KATNER Manas, 40, is accused of secretly taking video of a woman showering in the common bathroom of an apartment in Garapan.
Manas, who was charged with one count of disturbing the peace, appeared before Superior Court Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho on Thursday morning for a bail hearing.
Chief Prosecutor Chester Hinds appeared for the government while Manas was represented by Assistant Public Defender Karie Comstock who, on behalf of her client, requested that he be released on his own recognizance.
Judge Camacho denied the request, saying that there was a sexual element to the charge, especially if the defendant returns to the same apartment complex.
The judge imposed a $5,000 cash bail on Manas and remanded him to the custody of the Department of Corrections.
On Aug. 5, around 4 p.m., police said they responded to a reported prowling incident at an apartment in Garapan.
Police met with a woman who said she was taking a shower in the outside bathroom of their apartment because the one inside her unit was broken.
While showering, the woman said she noticed a shadow inside the bathroom coming from an opening above the bathroom door. She said when she looked up she saw the camera lens of a cellphone. She then covered herself with her clothes quickly and opened the door to see who was outside.
When she opened the door, she saw a man who was later identified as Manas. She said she recognized him because he also resides in the same apartment building, but she does not know his name.
She said Manas was holding a cellphone and was smiling at her.
She said she yelled at him and asked what he was doing there. The woman then told her husband and her neighbors about the incident, and her husband called the police.
In a freely given statement to the police, Manas admitted recording the woman with his cellphone and told police that it was not the first time he recorded someone in the outside bathroom of the apartment.
Manas said he has also recorded another woman that he does not know. He said she did not know he was recording her.
Asked why he recorded the women, Manas said he does not know why he did it, but “I just wanna see.”
Manas provided the police with the four-digit passcode for his cell phone so they could extract the video recordings.
