HUNTINGTON – A foreign exchange student from Brazil says the father of her host family spied on her with a motion-activated surveillance camera he had installed in her bathroom, capturing more than 100,000 photos and videos.
R.S., father of the girl identified as M.S., filed the civil complaint May 12 in Cabell Circuit Court against Darrel Wells and the Council for Educational Travel of America. The plaintiffs are from Piracicaba, Brazil, and Wells live in Barboursville. CETUSA is based in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Attorney Ben Salango said the girl is devastated by what happened to her.
“CETUSA failed her and her family,” Salango told The West Virginia Record. “She is absolutely mortified that this happened and is committed to making sure all those responsible are held accountable in civil and criminal court.
“Spy cameras are a significant problem. Perverts and predators are placing them in public restrooms, hotels rooms, locker rooms and near showers.”
According to the complaint, M.S. was placed by CETUSA in the Wells’ home to “provide safe and loving homes for our students during their semester or academic year in the U.S.” On August 19, 2021, she traveled to Huntington to begin the foreign exchange program.
The Wells family provided the girl with her own bedroom and bathroom, but the complaint says Darrel Wells had installed the motion-activated surveillance camera behind the bathroom door to secretly record her. The camera was designed to look like a towel hook.
On April 4, Darrel Wells entered the girl’s bedroom and told her he needed to “fix something” in the bathroom. She says she watched Wells work on something on the back of the bathroom door.
“After defendant Darrel Wells left the bathroom, M.S. looked behind the bathroom door and noticed a towel hook,” the complaint states. “When M.S. moved the towel hook, an SD card fell out.”
The girl then called a friend whose father is a photographer. He confirmed the SD card was a memory card used to store photos and videos. The friend called 911, then she and her father drove to get M.S.
State Police helped M.S. gather her belongings and reported the situation to the state Department of Health and Human Resources, which issued an Emergency Placement Contract on April 5 placing M.S. in the legal custody of the state.
State Police also found a second hidden camera in the girl’s bedroom that was disguised to look like a cell phone charging adapter that captured more “explicit images and videos.”
“Between August 19, 2021, and April 4, 2022, defendant Darrel Wells secretly obtained more than 100,000 images and video recordings of M.S., including while she was in the shower and getting dressed, without her knowledge or consent,” the complaint states.
After the incident was reported, the complaint says CETUSA tried to the plaintiff to sign a release that jeopardize her visa status and make her unable to return to the United States. The release also waived CETUSA of any liability related to the videotaping incident.
Salango warned people to be aware of your surroundings in public spaces.
“The spy cameras used in this case were designed and marketed to be used for an illegal purpose,” he said. “One was designed to look like a clothes hook to be installed in a bathroom or locker room. The other camera looked like a cellular telephone charger adapter.
“Spy cameras are inexpensive and marketed on Amazon for the specific purpose of capturing people during intimate and private moments.”
The plaintiffs accuse the defendants of negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, invasion of privacy and violation of the state Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Act.
They seek compensatory and punitive damages, attorney fees, court costs and other relief. They are being represented by Ben Salango of Salango Law in Charleston and by Paul Saluja of Saluja Law Offices in Charleston. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Alfred E. Ferguson.
Cabell Circuit Court case number 22-C-171