Carlos Antonio Alberti. Photo Courtesy of NLPD’s Facebook page.
New London Police say they have arrested a Connecticut College sophomore in relation to multiple reports of voyeurism incidents that occurred at the College throughout this academic year. Carlos Antonio Alberti ‘21 was charged with seven felony counts of voyeurism for allegedly photographing dozens of female students in shower changing areas without their consent.
Police detailed Alberti’s alleged history of recording women in campus co-ed bathrooms and on New York City subways in a detailed affidavit that expanded the scope of “shower incidents” from five that were reported during the 2018-2019 academic year to a set of 213 different shower stall videos that included approximately 30 women in eight different dormitories at Connecticut College. Detectives discovered that in hundreds of “shower stall videos,” Alberti allegedly recorded women either “preparing to enter the shower, in the running shower, or using the stall area to towel off just after their shower.”
Detectives also found 72 “up-skirt videos” on Alberti’s electronic devices in which he allegedly recorded women from beneath their skirts on New York City subways. Alberti told police he “needed to know what was under their skirt.” The videos allegedly show women’s “genitals, pubic area, or buttock or the undergarments that clothe the genitals, pubic area, or buttock of a woman.”
Police claimed Alberti “felt it was a compulsion and could not stop.” Alberti admitted that early on, he would walk into dorm bathrooms hoping to run across a woman showering. Police say Alberti eventually took to sitting in campus bathrooms “for extensive periods of time, sometimes up to three hours, waiting for a woman to use the shower so he could record them.”
Alberti allegedly used two iPhones, a cell phone “filevault,” and a computer to store 213 “shower stall” videos of approximately 30 different women. In one case, Alberti allegedly maintained a special folder on his computer for videos of one female student who he had a crush on and had recorded on two separate occasions. Videos were labeled by date, such as “11-30-18(x).mp4.” One of those instances involved seven 1-10 second videos of that woman; another slow-motion video lasted for over two minutes.
According to New London Chief of Police Peter Reichard, police ultimately identified Alberti as one of two possible suspects based on Camel Card dorm access logs provided to police by the College. Police say Alberti, along with one female student, were the only students who appeared to have accessed Plant and Morrison houses within 12 hours before each reported incident.
Between Oct. 17, 2018 and Jan. 23, 2019, four female students reported five incidents in which they believed they had been photographed without their consent while in shower areas. In the first case, a student reported observing a large white hand holding an iPhone above the shower curtain while showering in Plant house, according to the affidavit. The victim allegedly screamed, and then, in a towel, chased after the suspect while he ran away. Though the victim never saw the suspect, they described to police hearing the sound of sneakers.
The next incident, after 7:30 PM on the night of Friday, Oct. 26, 2018, occurred in Morrison house, a freshman dorm. The victim described noticing someone in a toilet stall adjacent to the shower pointing an iPhone at her below the stall divider. That victim described to police noticing “maroon Nike skate sneakers, possibly with a white stripe.”
Another victim, whom Alberti allegedly recorded at least twice, described in an email to campus safety director Mary Savage ad Title IX coordinator Ebony Manning noticing a black iPhone during a Thursday, Nov. 30, 2018 incident, and a similar black iPhone “with possible red detailing around the camera area of the phone” after a January 23, 2019 incident.
Detectives made contact with Alberti on Thursday, Feb. 7 by visiting his room, Plant 311. Police say Alberti agreed to talk with the detectives about the voyeurism, but initially stated “he had no idea who had been recording the women.” Detective Keith Crandall says he noticed a red iPhone XR with a black case on his beside dresser, along with “a lot of red things in [Alberti’s] room.” Alberti reportedly described red as his favorite color. Crandall asked Alberti about red shoes, and Alberti showed Crandall maroon Nike sneakers that had a white stripe.
Alberti reportedly allowed Crandall to look at the contents of the red iPhone. After Crandall looked through some photographs, he opened a “Recently Deleted” folder. In that folder, Crandall says he saw a video of “a woman using the toilet in what appeared to be a dormitory bathroom.” When Crandall asked him about the video, Alberti “began to tremble and his voice started to crack.”
According to the affidavit, Alberti denied involvement at first, but soon after admitted to using his phone to record women in dorm showers.
The five reported voyeurism incidents stretch from October to January, but it is unclear how far back Alberti’s recordings go. Though police say they have made contact with at least one victim who was unaware that Alberti had recorded her, it is unclear whether police have identified all 30 women they say Alberti recorded at the College.
Alberti has posted a $150,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in New London Superior Court on March 15, 2019. A first-time offense for voyeurism could result in a fine and up to 5 years in prison. He is also “separated from campus,” according to College spokeswoman Tiffany Thiele. Alberti is officially “On Leave,” per the College’s student directory. Thiele says Alberti’s status at the College will be determined through the College’s student conduct process, which involves a Title IX investigation.
