North Kansas City Hospital (Google Maps).
A respiratory therapist at a Missouri hospital filmed his female co-workers using the bathroom using a pen with a hidden camera built into it, he admitted as part of a plea agreement.
Gabrielle Vanriette, 40, pleaded guilty on Feb. 27 to invasion of privacy. According to a probable cause arrest affidavit, cops responded to the North Kansas City Hospital on Sept. 14, 2023, for a call about a recording device found in an employee bathroom. The charge nurse told detectives with the North Kansas City Police Department that she was using the bathroom when she saw a pen on a plastic storage tote facing the toilet.
She initially thought it was just a pen but upon closer examination realized it had a camera lens. She took the pen apart and found there was also a SIM card. The nurse alerted security who called police. Cops reviewed the SIM card and found two files that were apparently recorded earlier that day. According to the affidavit, a hand can be seen positioning the camera so it showed the toilet. The other file contained a woman pulling down her pants and sitting on the toilet.
Detectives then reviewed hospital surveillance that showed the bathroom, which was located within an employee locker room area in the emergency department. Vanriette entered the locker room area around the same time as the videos were recorded, the affidavit said.
Surveillance video showed a man, later identified as Vanriette, going in and out of the bathroom several times while wearing his blueish green scrubs. Investigators also noted that he typically worked in a different area in the hospital and did not have a locker in the emergency department locker room. But his key card showed him entering the area 15 times during his shift, according to the affidavit. Vanriette claimed he had food poisoning and had to go to the bathroom often.
The defendant also insisted that he never bought such a device as the one found in the bathroom.
Investigators sent the SIM card to the Heart of America Regional Computer Forensics Lab for further analysis. Experts were able to extract additional videos that revealed there were seven more victims. Video also captured Vanriette, sometimes with his name on his name badge showing, placing the pen in the bathroom, according to the affidavit.
The hospital released the following statement to local CBS affiliate KCTV: “We are aware of the guilty plea by this former employee and have supported the prosecution of this matter. At sentencing, we would like to see the judge assess the maximum penalties permitted under the law.”
Vanriette was fired after the incident but he later got a job at Truman Hospital in Kansas City, cops said. He faces up to four years in prison and a $10,000 fine when he is sentenced on May 30.
