Police say Coralville man hid camera in University of Iowa bathroom

IOWA CITY - Thirteen charges have been filed against a one-time University of Iowa employee accused of placing a hidden camera in a University of Iowa bathroom.

According to University of Iowa Department of Public Safety criminal complaints, on June 4, 2014, a small camera was found in a unisex bathroom in the 2800 suite of the University Capitol Centre. Located on the second floor of the Old Capitol Town Center next to the UI campus, the University Capitol Centre houses many UI offices. The bathroom is open to both UI employees and the general public, police said.

Police said an image on the device shows 46-year-old Nicodemus Hendrik, who is identified in a search warrant application as an employee in Information Technology Services. A search of Hendrik's Coralville home turned up computers and media storage devices, police said.

According to criminal complaints, images of at least five victims 'in a state of nudity” were found on Hendrik's laptop. Images of other victims were also found on the camera, police said.

The victims - some of whom were UI ITS employees, according to the search warrant - told police they were not aware they were being recorded.

'This behavior is consistent with voyeurism, a form of sexual perversion,” the criminal complaints state.

Hendrik has been arrested and faces 13 counts of invasion of privacy, a serious misdemeanor. He is not listed in the UI directory.

There have been several high profile invasion of privacy cases in the Iowa City area in recent years. Nathan Schloss, 23, a former University of Iowa student, faces 22 counts of invasion of privacy and 18 counts of third-degree sexual abuse for allegedly recording himself having sexual contact with incapacitated women. The videos were discovered when police were investigating the abuse of Schloss' cat by his roommate.

Last year, an Iowa City landlord, Elwyn Miller, was found guilty of six counts of invasion of privacy and sentenced to 150 days in jail. Police said Miller was discovered peeping on a tenant in one of his buildings on in October 2012. After the tenant reported Miller's actions to police, peepholes in four other apartments were discovered, police said.

Invasion of privacy is a serious misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail.