SUNRISE, Fla. – A Lauderhill police officer is facing a criminal charge after his on-and-off girlfriend accused him of illegally recording the pair having sex, according to an arrest affidavit obtained Thursday by Local 10 News.
Johnny Alejandro Mateo, 42, was arrested on Tuesday by Sunrise police on a video voyeurism charge. Records show he resides in Sunrise.
According to the affidavit, Mateo had been living with his girlfriend, who’s from the Dominican Republic, since March. Police said she told investigators that the two had dated for years and she believed that he was going to help her with her immigration situation.
The woman told investigators that Mateo told her the week of Aug. 5 that “she needed to go back to the Dominican Republic and that he wasn’t going to help her” with her immigration issues.
Police said on Saturday, the woman, looking for evidence that Mateo was cheating on her, discovered a USB drive showing a video of the pair having sex taken unknowingly and without her consent. She believed the video was from 2022.
The woman told investigators that she had previously denied Mateo permission to record their sex acts, the affidavit states. It also states she told police that the USB drive also contained videos of Mateo having sex with “numerous other women.” Police said she told detectives she’d provide them with the women’s social media accounts.
A veteran detective wrote in the affidavit that he reviewed the video, which he said showed Mateo “appear(ing) to position the camera covertly” before the woman enters the room.
The detective wrote that “numerous clips” showed the pair having sex and said that Mateo waited for his girlfriend to leave the room before shutting off the camera.
“Upon reviewing some of the other videos on the USB drive, it appears that Johnny turns on and off the camera covertly without the knowledge of the victim,” the affidavit states. “Johnny appears to look at the camera on one of the videos but the victims seem oblivious to the fact that they are being recorded.”
Police said they interviewed Mateo Monday, prior to his arrest. His statement to detectives was redacted from the affidavit.
Lauderhill police said they were notified by Sunrise police Tuesday about an open investigation stemming from an off-duty incident; Mateo was later placed on leave.
Mateo bonded out of jail following his arrest.