Mahopac Man Accused Of Hiding Cameras In Public Bathroom: US Attorney

PUTNAM COUNTY, NY — Less than a month after Mahopac resident John Towers was accused of possession of child porn, the 54-year-old has been arrested on federal charges accusing him of sexually exploiting minors and secretly recording women and girls in the bathroom of a park in Putnam County where he worked.

Towers was out on bail when he was arrested Thursday and presented before U.S. Magistrate Judge Andrew E. Krause in White Plains federal court, said Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

"John Towers’s alleged disturbing conduct violated the public’s trust by placing hidden cameras in a public bathroom and using those cameras to capture sexually explicit images of children," Williams said.

From about July 24, 2018, up to about Dec. 9, 2019, Towers placed hidden cameras in a blue-and-white tiled bathroom in a privately owned, public park in Putnam County to record women and girls in order to capture sexually explicit images, prosecutors said. He worked at the park from 2004 to 2024, according to the complaint. The U.S. Attorney's Office would not identify the park.

On some occasions, Towers used multiple hidden cameras at the same time, according to the complaint. Following the execution of a search warrant at his residence, investigators found 10 "spy" cameras — three looked like ballpoint pens, and the others contained a battery pack, a wireless antenna and a tiny camera that looks like a button, according to the complaint.

Towers transferred the recordings to a hard drive, prosecutors alleged. Investigators recovered a hard drive that was found to contain over 800 videos of females, including prepubescent females, using a bathroom.

They also found more than 6,000 images and videos that had been uploaded to the internet, according to the complaint. About 78 of the videos had file names that included the term “yung.”

Some of the sexually explicit images of young girls appear to have been taken at his home, according to the complaint.

"As today’s arrest shows, we will use every tool available to law enforcement to investigate and prosecute those alleged to have sexually exploited children," Williams said.

Anyone who may have relevant information regarding Towers is asked to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324).

Towers was charged in federal court with one count of sexual exploitation of a minor, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison; and one count of possession of child pornography, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

The minimum and maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing will be determined by a judge.

Williams praised the efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Putnam County District Attorney’s Office, and the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office in connection with this investigation.

The prosecution is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Marcia S. Cohen is in charge of the prosecution. The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

SEE: Mahopac Resident Arrested On Child Porn Charges: Putnam County Sheriff