Man sentenced to five years in prison for 2019 espionage incident

BRYAN, Texas – A 59-year-old man was sentenced to several years in prison Friday for a 2019 spying incident that occurred in a Texas A&M Transportation Services restroom.

According to the Brazos County District Attorney’s Office, Peter Baty, a former Texas A&M University Transportation Services employee, was discovered to have used a spy camera disguised as a phone charger in the ladies’ restroom to take photographs of over 100 A&M University Transportation Services employees.

The spy camera, which had been recording 24/7 and hanging in the toilet for about five months, was found in early May 2019, and Texas A&M University police soon linked Baty to the spying incident. A search warrant was issued and executed at Baty’s home, and, along with the many photos of other employees, evidence was found related to an unsolved police case from 2013.

In the unsolved 2013 case, a student returned to her apartment one day and found a box with a note attached to it. Inside were several photos showing her undressing. Prosecutors say the note was also “explicit in nature” and indicated that the victim had been observed by the voyeur for an extended period of time.

While police were investigating the case at the time, no suspects were identified. However, when police executed the 2019 search warrant on Baty’s home, they found copies of the 2013 photos on devices belonging to him.

According to the public prosecutor’s office, his crime was time-barred in 2013 and therefore no charges could be brought against him.

When Baty received his sentence on Friday, June 21, he faced a maximum sentence of two years in prison. But because he was charged with five counts, the sentences could run consecutively. The state asked Judge Kyle Hawthorne of the 85th District Court to impose maximum sentences totaling 10 years for each count, but in the end only 12 months were imposed for each of the five crimes.

“Thanks to the tireless work of the University Police and the continued strength of the victims involved, justice was served today,” Assistant District Attorneys Rachel Porter and Brian Baker said in a press release. “The defendant’s actions created a nightmare for dozens of people. Justice in this case required a significant prison sentence.”