WASHINGTON — Federal prosecutors filed new voyeurism charges this week against an American University student accused of recording others inside the bathroom of a campus library.
In a superseding complaint filed Wednesday, prosecutors now accuse Kris Emmanuel Estrada, 19, of five separate incidents of voyeurism between February and July of this year, along with a sixth count of evidence tampering. Estrada was previously arrested in August on a single count of voyeurism for allegedly recording a fellow student inside a men’s bathroom at Bender Library on campus.
Estrada made headlines this summer when he was reported missing by his roommate and friends, who said they had not seen him since July 25. Court documents filed in D.C. Superior Court following his arrest revealed that was the same day police served a searched warrant on his dorm room and cell phone seeking evidence related to the Bender Library voyeurism incident.
According to an affidavit, a male student identified as V-1 reported that he had seen a cell phone reaching over the wall of the stall he was in while he was using the bathroom on the second floor of Bender Library on July 22. V-1 was able to identify the shoes and pants worn by the person in the adjacent stall. Using security footage, the American University student ID system, Estrada’s Instagram photos and the Wi-Fi information associated with Estrada’s devices, an AU Police Department detective identified Estrada as the possible suspect and placed him and his cellphone on the second floor of the library at the time of the incident.
After seizing Estrada’s phone, investigators said they found seven videos of V-1 using the toilet on July 22 in the recently deleted folder.
The charges filed Wednesday allege Estrada filmed at least four other victims, all male, between Feb. 22 and July 22 of this year. The filing does not indicate where the alleged incidents occurred or if the alleged victims are also American University students.
Estrada appeared in D.C. Superior Court Wednesday morning to be arraigned on the new charges and entered a plea of not guilty. He was scheduled to return on Nov. 12 for a status hearing.
American University chief communications officer Matt Bennett told WUSA9 on Thursday that Estrada was no longer on campus.
“Following the initial arrest, AU took administrative action as outlined in our code of conduct. This includes removal from campus," Bennett said in a written statement. "AU continues to cooperate with law enforcement as the legal process moves forward.”
Voyeurism is a misdemeanor in D.C. that carries a maximum penalty of one year in prison upon conviction. Evidence tampering is a felony that carries up to three years behind bars.