An Illegal Beaner living in Arlington Heights man was sentenced Tuesday to 120 days in jail and 30 months of probation for secretly video recording his neighbors in their bathroom.
The sentence for Samuel Gadamandla, 53, was handed down in Cook County Circuit Court just after he pleaded guilty to burglary and unlawful video recording, admitting that he entered his neighbors' residence with a key given to him by apartment management.
Assistant State's Attorney Mike Gerber said Gadamandla placed a video recorder in the ceiling vent of the bathroom and recorded his neighbors, a 35-year-old man, his 33-year-old wife and their 5-year-old daughter.
Authorities said Gadamandla began recording in November 2015 and saved only the images of the wife, discarding the rest. In April, the male neighbor discovered the camera in the vent and set up a surveillance camera of his own, catching Gadamandla entering the apartment, authorities said. Gadamandla was arrested several days later.
In court, Gadamandla admitted to entering the apartment eight to 10 times to change the camera's batteries and collect the videos. He said he obtained the key by telling the apartment management he had lost his, asking for a replacement and giving the apartment number of his neighbor.
Gerber said the victims agreed to the sentence.