District Attorney Hoovler Announces Guilty Plea 

In Unlawful Surveillance Case

Electrician Places Hidden Camera in Victim’s Bathroom

Faces State Prison Sentences in Orange County and New Jersey 

Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler announced that on Thursday, August 29, 2019, Joseph Krenicky, 48, of Glenwood, New Jersey, pleaded guilty to Unlawful Surveillance in the Second Degree, before Orange County Court Judge Craig Stephen Brown, in connection with having installed a hidden camera in the bathroom of a woman who had hired Krenicky to perform electrical work.

At the time he pleaded guilty, Krenicky admitted that he had installed a hidden camera in the bathroom of the Town of Chester home. Krenicky, who has been charged with a similar offense in New Jersey, admitted to keeping video files of the Orange County home-owner as she stepped into and out of the shower, and using those video files for his own sexual gratification. 

Pursuant to a plea agreement placed on the record, prosecutors will recommend that Krensicky be sentenced to one to three years in state prison, concurrent to whatever prison sentence he receives in New Jersey.  The conviction will also require Krenicky to register as a sex offender.  Krenicky is scheduled to be sentenced on September 12, 2019.

The case in Orange County began after the New Jersey State Police executed a search warrant at Krenicky’s home in Glenwood, New Jersey.  Video files of those Krenicky had surreptitiously recorded were recovered from his computer.  The Town of Chester Police Department was instrumental in identifying the Orange County victim. District Attorney Hoovler thanked the Town of Chester Police Department for their investigation and the arrest of Krenicky.

“One can scarcely conceive of a greater invasion of privacy than being surreptitiously recorded in the bathroom of your own home,” said District Attorney David Hoovler.  “Homeowners must necessarily allow contractors and others into their home to perform work.  Those who abuse their ability to access homes to use technology to invade the privacy of unsuspecting victims deserve incarceration. I commend the collaborative efforts of the New Jersey State Police and the Town of Chester Police in investigating this case and for the arrest of this defendant.  State prison sentences are the best deterrent to those who might be tempted to use technology to invade the privacy of others, particularly when it is done for purposes of sexual gratification. ”

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Alexis Gregory.

This criminal charge is merely an allegation that a defendant has committed a violation of the criminal law, and it is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the State of New York’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.