MN Wedding Photographer Secretly Recorded Undressed Bride: Police

ALBERT LEA, MN — A Pine City-based wedding photographer is accused of secretly recording a bride while she was undressed in a venue's bridal suite in Albert Lea. The wedding took place in the fall of 2020, police said.

Mitchell D. Ringness, 31, was charged last week with a gross misdemeanor privacy violation (install or use a surreptitious device). If convicted, Ringness faces up to a year in prison and a $3000 fine.

In April, authorities began investigating after receiving a video recording that showed a dressing room for a bride "taken from a very low angle," the criminal complaint states.

The recording was delivered to authorities by Ringness' significant other, police said.

The video recording shows a woman in her underwear with her breasts exposed to the camera, the criminal complaint states.

In the video, after the woman gets dressed, the photographer — identified as Ringness — enters the room, according to authorities.

The thumb drive the video came from had other sexual conduct material, police said.

A detective visited the wedding venue in Albert Lea and recognized the bridal suite as the room from the video. The detective found a small round table that appeared to be the place where a video recording device was placed, according to the criminal complaint.

Investigators spoke with the bride, who said she had no idea about the hidden camera and that she did not pay or give permission for Ringnessto do videography or boudoir photography, the criminal complaint states.