CONROE, Texas — A Conroe teenager is accused of hiding a cell phone camera in the women's restroom at a neighborhood swimming pool.
Conroe police said 19-year-old Roman Maciel works in swimming pool maintenance. Neighborhood residents called it a "total lack of privacy."
“Super scary," said resident Karina Cannon. "I have a 5-year-old and we were here Tuesday, I guess the day before or two days before this happened.”
The teen is accused of hiding his phone under a pile of toilet paper in a women's restroom on Thursday before it was spotted by a mother and her 4-year-old daughter.
Cannon said her daughter spoke with the teen while he was at the pool.
"My daughter was asking him about what he was doing to the pool, having kind of a conversation with him and said, 'Oh, he's my new best friend,'" Cannon said.
According to a lieutenant with the Conroe Police Department, the mother who found the camera confronted Maciel. He's accused of assaulting her and another person before running into a nearby wooded area where he was later arrested.
During his first court appearance on Friday, Maciel's bond was set at a total of $55,000 for felony invasive visual recording and two counts of misdemeanor assault.
"Now here we go having to explain to a little one, just because someone's nice doesn't mean they're a good person," Cannon said.
According to Conroe ISD records, Maciel was the 2022 salutatorian at Oak Ridge North High School.