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Former NJ first responder accused of secretly filming people in rescue squad bathrooms

Douglas Gimson was arrested and charged for allegedly filming at least 15 people using hidden cameras in the bathrooms and showers of two rescue squad buildings

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A former New Jersey first responder has been arrested and charged for allegedly secretly filming at least 15 people in the bathrooms and showers at two rescue squad buildings.

Photo/qimono, Pixabay

Caroline Fassett
nj.com

HUNTERDON COUNTY, N.J. — A 31-year-old Hunterdon County man was arrested and charged earlier this year for secretly filming people in the bathrooms and showers of two rescue squad buildings, according to information provided by police and the Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s Office.

Douglas Gimson of Hampton was charged in March, according to the prosecutor’s office, which confirmed the charges on Wednesday.

At least 13 people were filmed using hidden cameras between November 2016 and May 2017 at the Lambertville-New Hope Ambulance & Rescue Squad and at least two people were filmed between November 2019 and March of this year at the Flemington-Raritan Rescue Squad, according to police reports.

Gimson was charged with one count of third degree invasion of privacy and one count of fourth degree invasion of privacy by police in both Flemington and Lambertville, according to the prosecutor’s office.

His arrest was the result of a joint investigation conducted by the office’s Special Victims Unit and Flemington and Lambertville police.

Gimson was at one time a member of both departments, according to social media posts and newsletters produced by both squads. Both squads had not responded to a request for comment.

These incidents came to light after Gimson was allegedly spotted standing outside the window of a woman’s bathroom in the Flemington-Raritan Rescue Squad building on March 19, using a Go-Pro to film a woman inside the bathroom, according to a report filed by Flemington Police.

The victim reported seeing someone standing outside filming her, then noticed that Gimson had been outside after she exited the bathroom, according to the report. A Go-Pro was “in plain view” in Gimson’s vehicle, police said.

Gimson admitted to police that he used his Go-Pro to record the woman, and granted them consent to search his vehicle, according to the report. Police confiscated Gimson’s cellular phone and numerous SD cards. They discovered images of another woman changing in the bathroom of the Flemington-Raritan Rescue Squad building on various dates between November 2019 and February 2020.

There were also images and videos dating back to November 2016 of both men and women being filmed without their consent in the bathroom of the Lambertville-New Hope Ambulance & Rescue Squad building, according to a report filed by Lambertville police. Still images of Gimson setting up cameras in the ceiling of the bathroom and shower area were also discovered.

Numerous individuals were interviewed and 13 were positively identified by Lambertville police.

The case is now pending before state Superior Court Judge Angela F. Borkowski in Hunterdon County Superior Court.

An investigation is continuing, the prosecutor’s office stated. Those with information can call the Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s Office’s Special Victims Unit at 908-788-1129.

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(c)2020 NJ Advance Media Group, Edison, N.J.

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