MAN, 61, ACCUSED OF HIDING SPY CAMERA IN BATHROOM; COLLEGE STUDENT RENTERS FILMED IN SHOWER AT MOORPARK HOUSE, POLICE SAY.

Byline: Sylvia L. Oliande Daily News Staff Writer

A 61-year-old man, asked by his landlord to keep an eye on the Moorpark College students he boarded with, is suspected of videotaping several of the women while they showered in the bathroom.

Dennis Duane Boar was arrested Saturday night after a 19-year-old woman and a 23-year-old man reported finding a pinhole camera hidden behind a decorative mask in the bathroom. The woman also told police that Boar apparently entered her room several times and opened her window blinds before she caught him spying on her from the back yard.

Authorities said Boar lived at the Marymount Street home about two years and was given a discount on the rent in exchange for making sure the landlord's other tenants did not damage the four-bedroom house.

``The owner was renting to students who, at times, need a lot of supervision in the residence so they don't tear it up and have parties or whatever,'' Moorpark police Sgt. Terry Hughes said. ``He was a mature adult. He was not responsible for directly supervising the other renters. He was just asked to make sure that nothing happened in the house.''

The victims are Japanese citizens with student visas living in the home while they attend college.

Hughes said the 19-year-old told police that Boar spied on her at least 10 times and she confronted him about it, but she did not immediately report the incidents to authorities.

``She was scared. She was shocked,'' Hughes said. ``She's in a different country and she doesn't understand our culture completely. And she's in an awkward position. She confronted him about peeping, and he promised not to do it anymore.''

On Saturday, the 23-year-old male tenant was in the bathroom when he noticed a red light from the eye of a mask on the wall, Hughes said. In it, he found a tiny surveillance camera with wires leading through a small hole to the linen closet and into Boar's bedroom, where it was connected to a full-size recording device, Hughes said.

When the housemates confronted Boar, he admitted videotaping them and handed over tapes of the man in the bathroom, Hughes said. The suspect also reportedly told the renters he would turn over a tape of the woman in the shower if they would return his camera equipment to him. They said he told them the tape was being stored in Thousand Oaks and left to get it.

They called the police, who arrested Boar when he returned home.

During a search of the home, police found electronic devices used for videotaping and two other tapes of women in the shower, Hughes said. One of the women in the tapes is believed to be a former tenant, he said.

Boar is free after posting $20,000 bail.

Officials said it is a felony to make audio recordings of someone without permission, but only a misdemeanor to invade another's privacy with video but no sound.

Prosecutor Dee Corona said she will have to determine how to handle the allegations that Boar spied on the 19-year-old from the back yard since he also was a tenant of the house and had lawful access to the yard.

``There is a law against peeping Toms,'' she said. ``It is a crime to peek in the door or window at an inhabitant without lawful business with the occupant. We'll have to look at it. Does he have reason to be right outside the window of that occupant?''