Man secretly recorded woman and teenage girl, deputies say
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RIGBY — A Jefferson County man allegedly used a camera disguised as a phone charger to secretly record a woman and teenage girl using the shower.
Tel James “TJ” Boam, 37, was charged with three felony counts of video voyeurism after Jefferson County Sheriff’s deputies learned on Sept. 30 that a woman had discovered videos of a 14-year-old girl in the shower on Boam’s phone. Additionally, the woman stumbled upon a video of herself showering on the phone, according to an affidavit of probable cause obtained by EastIdahoNews.com.
The woman told investigators she took screenshots of the videos and sent them to her phone so Boam wouldn’t destroy evidence. She confronted Boam, who allegedly told her the videos were old and he thought he deleted them from his phone. During their conversation, the woman said Boam “tried to convince” her she knew of the videos, according to court documents.
“(The woman) said last winter she found a camera that looks like a charger in the bathroom but did not think anything of it,” according to court documents. “(The woman) said she thinks she threw it in the closet.”
During the course of the investigation, detectives concluded the device, sold on Amazon.com, was likely the camera used to record the two females.
Investigators conducted a forensic interview with the now 15-year-old girl in which she claimed to have no knowledge of being recorded in the shower. She did say Boam does ask other women for nude photos.
A search of timestamps on the videos recovered on the woman’s phone showed the teen girl completely nude on five separate dates between July and August 2018. The video of the woman showering indicated it was recorded in August 2018.
According to court documents, detectives from multiple law enforcement agencies are inspecting several electronic devices owned by Boam to search for child pornography. Court documents do not detail if investigators obtained any pornographic images from the devices.
Police arrested Boam on Wednesday and transported him to the Jefferson County Jail. He made an initial court appearance Thursday and Magistrate Judge Robert Crowley released Boam to pre-trial services.
He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Oct. 24.
CORRECTION: An original version of this article said Boam was released on his own recognizance as stated in jail records. However, updated court information list Boam was released on conditions set by pre-trial services.