WARNING: This story contains information that is graphic in nature and could be disturbing to some.
Police in Upper Merion arrested a man they said broke into a woman’s apartment and placed a hidden camera to watch her get undressed.
Upper Merion Township Police said Ryan J. Selleny, 27, of King Of Prussia, is charged with burglary, criminal trespass, indecent assault, intercepting communications, recklessly endangering another person, theft by unlawful taking and invasion of privacy.
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According to police, officers were called to the Kingswood Apartments on Sunday after a woman reported finding a suspicious device in her unit.
Police said the woman showed officers a small phone plug charger that was plugged into an outlet in her bedroom.
After further investigation, police said it was found that the charger was actually a hidden camera.
Police said a detective from the Upper Merion Police’s Internet Crime and Technology Unit examined the device and found several hidden files, videos and images.
Detectives had combed through 25 hours of footage and found videos of the woman getting dressed, undressed and fully naked, according to police.
Police said detectives also found a video of Selleny lying on the woman's bed recording himself performing a sex act.
Police said the woman told them that Selleny had knocked on her door two days before, introduced himself as her neighbor and asked for her number because he wanted to take her out on a date.
The woman told him no, but gave him her number after he insisted. Police said they used the number she had to link back to Selleny.
According to police, it was determined that Selleny broke into the woman's apartment multiple times and also stole several personal items from her.
Police said a search warrant was served on Selleny’s apartment on Thursday. They believe there are potentially several more victims of Selleny and this type of behavior may have been occurring for some time.
After his arrest and charges, Selleny was released after posting bail.
Police fear more victims are out there
Selleny moved to King of Prussia about a year ago, sources told NBC10. His online profile lists him as a financial advisor and a Linkedin account said he worked for the financial investment firm, Vanguard. A Vanguard spokesperson told NBC10 he no longer works with the company.
Sources told NBC10 Selleny also has ties to Erie, Pennsylvania, and his online profile shows that he had previous jobs there.
While Selleny has been charged in the King of Prussia incident, police believe more victims are out there.
"Without getting into details, we do have evidence that was inside the suspect's apartment that would lead us to believe that there are other victims and we did find evidence that he was inside other victim's apartments," Upper Merion Police Captain Jeremy Johnson said.
Police are asking anyone who may have witnessed any suspicious behavior or interactions with Selleny to contact them immediately at 610-265-3232. You can also submit tips anonymously at uppermerionpolice.org.
Neighbors react
Norma Whiteley was on her way to Good Friday services when she found out that her neighbor, Selleny, allegedly installed the hidden camera.
"That's sick," Whiteley said. “I can’t believe that somebody would stoop so low as to put hidden cameras in someone’s apartment.”
Neighbors who talked to NBC10 also explained that they're double checking the safety of their own homes after hearing about this incident.
“It does make you want to tighten up your safety as far as locking your doors and making sure that your windows are locked because this is a really safe community, so certain concerns we don’t have," Asmaa Latimer said.
Safety expert weighs in
Safety expert Corey Jones spoke with NBC10 and says there are devices people can buy that search for devices like hidden cameras.
“The devices can find the reflection off the lens that are made to look for these. You can also use a simple flashlight to shine it around and if you see a reflection coming from some place, that can alert you to a lens," Jones explained.
Jones also urges everyone to invest in an alarm system to protect your home that will send a push notification to your phone. Some systems will even send alerts of suspicious activity to a central monitoring station that will share the information with police.
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