UPDATED STORY – The owner of a Mechanicsville restaurant is facing charges for having security cameras in the bathroom. Dennis Smith, 54, owns the Calabash Seafood Restaurant and Midway Lounge. Smith was arrested Wednesday, and charged with one count of unlawful videotaping.
Smith says he’s dealt with repeated, expensive vandalism in the mens’ bathrooms of his restaurant. He says the cameras are legal, since they weren’t angled towards anyone’s private areas. However, Smith got backlash from some customers over privacy rights.
Investigators seem to agree, after an investigation, and now charges. Cameras in bathrooms are legal in Virginia, as long as no one’s private areas are recorded. The owner’s wife says the cameras have been moved into the hallway of the restaurant. Smith is awaiting trial in Hanover County Circuit Court.
Source: nbc12.com