Man Gets Prison Sentence for Illegal Recordings at Salons: 1 Year Ago in East Cobb

A 56-year-old man has been sentenced to five years in prison for secretly recording video of women in various states of undress inside two salons he owned in Cobb County, the county District Attorney’s Office announced a year ago this week.

Mark Allan Storch pleaded guilty to 25 counts of invasion of privacy for his illegal recordings, made at Salon Avenue Suites in northeast Cobb and Kennesaw during July of 2012. He was sentenced to a 20 year term, five of which must be served in prison and the rest to be served on probation. Storch cannot own any video recording devices, including smartphones, while he is on probation.

According to prosecutors, Storch set up hidden video recording equipment inside the restrooms and suites of his businesses, which he rented out to legitimate beauty practitioners. Neither the practitioners nor the clients were aware that they were being recorded by Storch’s cameras.

In 2012, Cobb County Police Sgt. Dana Pierce told Patch that investigators at the premises in Kennesaw discovered “electronic recording devices.” Those devices were Storch’s cameras.

“Storch’s actions ripped away any sense of privacy these women have in secure settings, and actions such as these will not be tolerated in Cobb County,” said Assistant District Attorney Lindsay Gardner in a statement.

A victim of Storch’s recordings was present during his sentencing hearing on Monday, and said that the incident had left her suffering from anxiety, nightmares, and paranoia.