A man accused of placing a hidden camera inside a woman’s apartment and performing a sex act on her bed is back in custody as investigators look into more possible victims.
A bail hearing was held for 27-year-old Ryan Selleny of King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday. He was placed back in custody on $1 million bail.
The investigation began on March 24, 2024, when Upper Merion Police received a report from a woman who lived at the Kingswood Apartments in King of Prussia. The woman told police she spotted a suspicious device inside her apartment. She showed investigators a small phone plug charger that was plugged into an outlet in her bedroom. Police later determined the device was a hidden camera.
After officers seized the device, a detective with the Upper Merion Police Department’s Internet Crime and Technology Unit examined it. The detective located several hidden files, including a video showing a man -- later identified as Selleny -- on the victim’s bed and recording himself committing a sex act, investigators said.
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The victim told investigators Selleny had asked her out on a date prior to the incident but she didn’t accept and blocked communication with him a short time later.
Police said Selleny entered the woman’s home on several occasions and planted the hidden camera which captured the victim in various stages of dress, undress and full nudity, according to investigators. Selleny is also accused of stealing several personal items from the woman.
A search warrant was served at Selleny’s apartment on March 28. Evidence collected at the apartment led investigators to believe that more victims are out there.
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Selleny was arrested on March 28 and charged with burglary, criminal trespass, indecent assault, intercepting communications, recklessly endangering another person, theft by unlawful taking and invasion of privacy.
He was then set free after posting bail on April 1.
A bail hearing was then held for Selleny on Wednesday, April 3. Selleny shielded his mother from NBC10's camera as he entered the courtroom.
During the hearing, prosecutors told a judge there was grave concern for the safety of the public if Selleny was allowed to stay out on bail.
Prosecutors also said on Wednesday that Selleny had purchased four small cameras that appeared to look like cell phone charging devices. While police recovered three of those cameras, one was still missing and there was concern it was inside someone’s home or another private place, prosecutors said.
“A total of three cameras were recovered by the police but there were four packages that were recovered. We’re deeply concerned that there could be another individual that doesn’t know that they’re a victim that could have a camera recording in their home,” Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Lauren Marvel said.
A detective testified that Selleny had a collection of hundreds of pairs of women’s underwear and other personal items in ziplocked bags. While the victim identified some of the items as hers, it was unknown where some of the other items came from.
“There was a large plastic bin in the defendant’s apartment that contained hundreds of items that were mostly, individually or maybe there was a couple items per ziplocked bag, individually bagged," Marvel said.
Selleny had also broken into the victim’s apartment six months prior to the start of the investigation, according to prosecutors. The victim also testified during Wednesday’s hearing and said she didn’t feel safe and couldn’t go home. She asked the judge to keep Selleny in jail to protect any other potential victims out there.
“The victim’s home in this case, she had no idea that it had been burglarized for likely months. There was no sign of forced entry," Marvel said. "What we did recover from the defendant’s home was a lock picking kit as well as a spare key to the victim’s apartment, indicating that he may have picked a lock to get in. Given that there’s a missing camera and that knowledge base that we’re worried that the defendant has, we are concerned that if he were to remain on bail, he could’ve found a way to access that camera in another person’s home.”
The judge ultimately placed Selleny back in custody on $1 million bail.
Ryan Selleny’s background
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.
Safety expert weighs in
Safety expert Corey Jones spoke with NBC10 and said 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.
