FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Caitlin Mota
PHONE: (201) 577-6699
EMAIL: cmota@hcpo.org
DATE: Wednesday, October 2, 2024

MAN CHARGED AFTER RECORDING DEVICE FOUND IN MALL RESTROOM

Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez has released the following information:

The Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit has arrested an 18-year-old male after a recording device was found hidden in a public restroom at Newport Mall in Jersey City.

Andy Cardenas, of Jersey City, is charged with one count of Invasion of Privacy in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:14-9b(1), a crime of the third degree. He was arrested at the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office in Secaucus on Tuesday, October 1, 2024 and released on a summons pending his first court appearance, which is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, October 22, 2024.

On Friday, August 9, 2024, an adult female discovered a black device while using the family restroom located on the first floor of JCPenney. The Special Victims Unit was contacted, assumed control of the investigation, and later identified Cardenas as a person of interest. Multiple electronic/digital files were recovered from the recording device, which contained images from several unidentified restrooms. The Special Victims Unit is seeking the public’s help identifying the location of the restrooms in the attached photos. It is not yet known how long the recording device was being utilized.

This investigation is active and ongoing. Anyone with information about this matter, or wishing to report a sex crime, should call the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit (SVU) at 201-915-1234. All information will be kept confidential. The above charge is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty. R.P.C.3.6(b)(6)