The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office reported the arrest of Jose Maya, 40, a North Miami Beach police captain, accused of video voyeurism against a 23-year-old victim.
The charges state that he was arrested for video voyeurism by a family member or authority figure.
According to Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office detectives, the victim caught the accused lying on the floor next to the bathroom door after she saw a black object under the door after getting out of the shower. The young woman said she wasn’t wearing her glasses or contact lenses and therefore thought the object was an insect.
She also stated that when she opened the door, the accused was behind it and immediately stood up, claiming he was fixing a motion-activated nightlight near the bathroom.
However, the victim continued to see the black object appear under the door while she was showering, and after telling her mother, her mother suggested she set up her cell phone to record in the laundry room, pointing it toward the bathroom.
The young woman said she intentionally went to take a shower and saw the camera appear under the door. She then checked her cell phone and saw the video she recorded showing the accused inserting the camera under the door while she was showering, and she immediately showed the video to her mother.
According to the victim, her mother immediately confronted Maya, who allegedly admitted to doing something that is omitted from the arrest warrant. She also said her mother told her that in one of the videos the accused recorded of her in the bathroom, her buttocks were visible, while others were blurry.
After confronting him, the victim’s mother told him to leave the house.
Detectives reviewed video footage showing the victim leaving her cell phone recording before entering the basement, and the accused lying down outside the bathroom door and inserting an object under it, corroborating the victim’s account.
After appearing in criminal court on Wednesday, a judge set Maya’s bail at $7,500 and ordered him to stay away from the victim.
In a statement, the North Miami Beach Police Department announced that the captain has been relieved of his duties while the criminal proceedings and an internal administrative investigation continue.
