MILWAUKEE — A Milwaukee man has been charged after he allegedly recorded 542 people changing in locker rooms at various Wisconsin Athletic Club locations, a complaint said.
An arrest warrant has been issued for Peng Dong, 33, after a criminal complaint states he used a coffee cup with a camera inside to record people changing in locker rooms. The recordings date back to August of 2019 and were taken at several different locations across Brookfield, Glendale, and Wauwatosa.
Dong was arrested most recently on December 24 in Brookfield when a Wisconsin Athletic Club employee saw him arguing with one of the victims in the locker room. The employee said he saw Dong pleading with the victim to give his cup back, according to the complaint.
When the employee entered the locker room, the victim handed the cup to the employee. That's when Dong began pleading with the employee for the cup back, authorities say.
An officer responded to the scene where the employee gave the officer the cup. According to the criminal complaint, the lid of the cup had something attached to it and there were wires sticking out.
Another employee at the Wisconsin Athletic Club had seen the cup and confronted Dong about it, the complaint states. He told police that Dong said items had been stolen from his locker and he was using the camera to catch the person. Dong allegedly told the victim this was the first time he had used it.
The officer also spoke to the victim who said he recognized Dong but not from his appearance. He said it was the odd behavior he had seen before. The complaint says the victim had seen Dong set up his backpack in the locker room "gently and precisely" and then walk away from it.
That day, the victim noticed the cup in the side sleeve. He initially thought he saw water drops on the outside of it but after looking closer, he saw they were two holes and one had a camera lens.
On the scene, the officer interviewed the defendant who told police the story about items being stolen from him. He said he wanted to find out who was taking them.
The complaint says the officer asked Dong what was in his backpack. Dong said it was clothing and after refusing to show the officer multiple times, he finally opened the bag and pulled them out.
At that time, the officer saw a remote control in the backpack. The defendant told the officer it was used to activate the camera. He continued to tell the officer he was trying to catch a thief and this was the only time he had used it, according to the complaint.
The officer asked Dong if there was a chance he recorded anyone naked. The complaint said Dong laughed and said yes. He was placed under arrest.
At the police station, Dong gave officers permission to search the SD card with the videos on it. He also gave police permission to search his apartment, car, and cell phones.
While doing the searches, police found several laptops, cell phones, flash drives, and hard drives, After going through all of them, officers concluded Dong had recorded 542 people at various locations across Brookfield, Glendale, and Wauwatosa.
Many of them were changing their clothes at the time of the recordings, and some even showed Dong adjusting the camera to get clearer angles of intimate body parts.
According to the complaint, at least nine of the victims were under the age of 10.
The complaint says Dong also admitted to recording several sex videos without his partner's consent.
After sifting through all the footage, Brookfield police contacted Wauwatosa Police and Glendale Police to inform them that some of the videos were taken in their city. Brookfield police sent the videos to those departments so they could file charges.
A separate criminal complaint was also filed in Waukesha County for another incident at the Wisconsin Athletic Center in town.
Now, police are searching for Dong who has been charged with 15 counts of capturing an intimate representation without consent. If convicted, Dong could face a maximum sentence of 52.5 years in prison.
Following the release of the criminal complaint, the Wisconsin Athletic Club released a statement about the incident. They said they are working with police on the investigation.
In part, the club said, "the Wisconsin Athletic Club takes the safety of their members very seriously. It is clearly stated in our clubs that the use of video is prohibited in our locker rooms and is subject to state and local law. We are saddened that this took place and have a zero-tolerance policy for these actions and misconduct."
