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Pa. EMT Admits to Secretly Filming Female Coworker in Bathroom
Aug. 05--KINGSTON -- He's the peeping EMT, police say.
Investigators say an emergency medical technician for the Edwardsville Ambulance Association is facing charges for secretly recording a female coworker who was using the restroom at headquarters.
Kingston police say Francis P. Lenahan of Mocanaqua used his cellphone camera on June 7 to capture nude footage of the woman by placing the lens on the keyhole of the old bathroom door, which is equipped with a skeleton key lock.
Police say the 56-year-old's fiancee discovered the minute-long video on his cellphone and then reported her findings to leadership of the Edwardsville Ambulance Association, who contacted police.
Surveillance footage inside the ambulance building at 443 Main St. in Kingston showed Lenahan placing his cellphone against the bathroom door lock seconds after the woman went inside, police said in arrest papers.
When confronted by police, Lenahan admitted he filmed his coworker in the bathroom, saying he had a "crush" on her, according to police. Charging documents say Lenahan acknowledged he later viewed the video, which included footage of the woman's nude buttocks.
Arrest papers say Lenahan deleted the video once confronted by his fiancee and pleaded with her to "downplay" the situation because he was "afraid to go to jail."
When originally contacted on Thursday, Lenahan declined comment until he spoke to an attorney.
He called back later to confess.
"I did do it. It was a stupid mistake. I lost everything because of this," Lenahan said. "I should have used better judgment. I was overworked and overtired when it happened."
Lenahan said he wanted to apologize to his former coworker and hopes the justice system will show mercy on him.
"I've never been in trouble with the law," Lenahan said. "I hope they take into consideration I'm a good person."
Lenahan is charged with a misdemeanor count of invasion of privacy.
The charges were sent to him via summons and he has been ordered to appear on Sept. 7 for a preliminary hearing in front of Magisterial District Judge Paul Roberts in Kingston.
Lenahan is no longer employed by the Edwardsville Ambulance Association, according to Frank Slymock, chief of the department.
He deferred further comment to Ralph Castner, president of the ambulance service. Efforts to reach Castner were unsuccessful.
Lenahan also works for Luzerne-based Trans-Med Ambulance, which has been in the news during the past few months due to a controversial new ambulance protocol in Wilkes-Barre. A spokesman for Trans-Med did not return a request for comment.
570-821-2055, @cvbobkal
Copyright 2016 - The Citizens' Voice, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
