Man, 41, allegedly took videos of girls showering

A 41-year-old man was arrested on Sunday for allegedly taking videos of minors as they were showering or changing clothes in the women’s restroom of the Tachogna Beach on Tinian.

Mofizur Rahman, an employee of the Tinian Dynasty Hotel & Casino, admitted taking the videos and pleaded for mercy during questioning, police said.

Rahman was taken to Superior Court on Saipan yesterday morning on charges of pornography and unlawful exploitation of minors. His bail was set at $20,000 cash.

Rahman’s lawyer, Janet H. King, argued for the release of her client, saying the law the police relied on has already been repealed.

Assistant attorney general Heather Barcinas, who appeared for the government, stated that they have not filed any formal charges yet.

Preliminary hearing will be on April 23 at 9am.

Tinian police detective Shawn Lee SN. Borja stated in his report that two police officers responded to Tachogna Beach on Sunday at 6:12pm after receiving a call about a prowling case.

The officers met with a man who told them that, as his 12-year-old daughter was showering in the women’s restroom, she noticed flash coming from a camera.

The man said that when he searched the place, he spotted only Rahman.

The two officers found an abandoned room adjacent to the women’s restroom. In that abandoned room, one officer found a blue soccer uniform top and a small window, where a person can see into the women’s restroom.

During questioning by an officer, Rahman allegedly held onto the officer’s legs and pleaded for mercy.

Borja said Rahman then led the officers to the abandoned room, where he hid his cellphone under a box.

Rahman allegedly asked the officers to delete the pictures, admitting that what he did was wrong. He asked the officers to let him go and just allow him and his wife to purchase plane tickets and leave the island for good.

The officer noticed that while looking through the phone’s gallery, he found a video of the victim showering and changing clothes. The video also showed the girl’s private parts. When the girl saw the video, she told the officer to delete it. The officer instructed the other officer to do so.

The officer later found other videos on the phone of young girls taking showers and changing clothes.

Borja said Rahman confessed that he took the video of the girl and that he also took videos of other people, mostly women, showering and changing clothes.

Borja said Rahman stated that after watching the videos, he would delete them. (Ferdie de la Torre)