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Fairchild Tropical garden volunteer secretly recorded others in restroom, police say

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – A 19-year-old volunteer was secretly recording people inside a Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden restroom, according to the Coral Gables Police Department.

A Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden employee reported finding a mobile phone on May 21 that was recording a video inside a unisex restroom used by employees, according to an arrest report.

Police officers arrested Justin Torres on Thursday in Coral Gables. He was released on a $10,000 bond on Friday. (MDCR)

Detectives found the phone belonged to Justin Torres, of Cutler Bay, who had been volunteering at the garden, at 10901 Old Cutler Rd., in Coral Gables.

They also found two recordings and still images of Torres’s colleagues undressing in the employee restroom, according to the report.

Torres surrendered to police officers on Thursday. He is facing two counts of video voyeurism. Corrections released him on a $5,000 bond on Friday. Court records show his next hearing is at 9 a.m., on Aug. 5.

In a statement, Fairchild Gardens said it “immediately contacted local authorities when it was made aware of this incident, and both Fairchild and the individuals involved have turned this matter over to law enforcement officials.”

11 p.m. report

Local 10 News Assignment Desk Editor Allison Cubillos contributed to this report.


About the Authors
Christian De La Rosa headshot

Christian De La Rosa joined Local 10 News in April 2017 after spending time as a reporter and anchor in Atlanta, San Diego, Orlando and Panama City Beach.

Andrea Torres headshot

The Emmy Award-winning journalist joined the Local 10 News team in 2013. She wrote for the Miami Herald for more than 9 years and won a Green Eyeshade Award.

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