Man Pleads Not Guilty to Recording Women in Restroom

Joseph Hennessey is accused of watching women on live feed from camera he placed in Arlington, Mass. restaurant bathroom

Joseph B. Hennessey is accused of watching women on a live video feed while they were using the bathroom in an Arlington, Massachusetts, cafe.

In court, his attorney said the allegations are not true.

Hennessey was arrested Saturday at the Kickstand Cafe. Police say he allegedly placed a small camera in a fake basket of flowers in the women's bathroom, transmitting images to a small video receiver as he sat in the main restaurant.

Police were altered to the suspect by an alleged victim, a former cafe manager who says she recognized the suspect. She said he had been at the cafe the previous week acting suspiciously.

The defendant's attorney said the fake basket of flowers did belong to his client, claiming he found them and was saving them for his daughter.

Hennessey says he did not know there was a camera inside. He says did go into the women's bathroom and left the flowers inadvertently because he needed to quickly take his medication for irritable bowel syndrome.

The suspect declined comment as he left Cambridge District Court.

Hennessey is a married father of two and an Arlington Department of Public Works employee who has been on workers compensation ever since a tree limb hit him on the head. He has no previous records and was released on $1,000 cash bail.

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