A couple who said they found that their landlord had placed hidden cameras in their residence is suing him for $3 million.
The suit was filed against Leasie "Gene" Roberts by Jena Pinson and Chris Smith and their two-year-old daughter, Kaylee Smith.
Roberts is facing criminal charges after police said they seized a number of videotapes at his home that showed women in various states of undress.
The suit says the Smiths, who lived at 123 S. Seminole Dr., are 20 and Roberts is 69.
It says on Sept. 18, after she had exited the shower and gone into her bedroom, Ms. Pinson noticed a suspicious blinking red light between two stuffed animals in her bedroom.
The suit says a short time later, Roberts came to the house and she asked him what the object was. He told her it was part of a smoke detector system.
At 3:30 p.m. that day, Chris Smith saw the landlord carrying what appeared to be a VCR unit out of the premises, it was stated.
The complaint says the next day Roberts told the couple he was going to put two new light fixtures in the house. Later that day, Ms. Pinson came home and found him in the attic. He told her he was installing lights.
The couple by this time had become suspicious, the suit says. Later that day, they found a camera hidden in the new light fixture he had installed.
On Sept. 20, Ms. Pinson alerted the police, who came to the home to investigate. Roberts was afterwards arrested.
The sauit says the landlord "placed the camera and recording equipment in the plaintiffs' home to obtain nude pictures of them. He did so for his sexual gratification and perhaps the sexual gratification of others. The taking of the pictures was done without the knowledge or consent of the plaintiffs."
They said they "have suffered physically and emotionally from this illegal invasion of their privacy by the defendant."
Each plaintiff asked $1 million in damages in the suit filed by attorneys John Cavett and Stan Lanzo.