Defendant Hid Outside, Recorded Unsuspecting Women In Neighborhoods in Northwest Washington
WASHINGTON - Daniel Rosen, 45 of Washington D.C., pled guilty today to charges stemming from a series of incidents between 2012 and 2014 in which he secretly took video recordings of women in various stages of undress by aiming his cellular phone through their apartment windows in Northwest Washington.
The guilty plea was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Vincent H. Cohen, Jr. and Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Rosen, a former senior official of the U.S. State Department, pled guilty in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to six counts of voyeurism and five counts of stalking. The Honorable Rhonda Reid Winston scheduled sentencing for Oct. 9, 2015. Each of the counts of voyeurism and stalking carries a maximum penalty of one year and potential fines.
“Daniel Rosen crept through alleys and peered through windows to secretly film women during intimate, private moments in their own homes," said Acting U.S. Attorney Cohen. “Today he admitted to being a serial stalker and voyeur who robbed women of the privacy they expected in their own bedrooms and bathrooms. I hope that the fact he is being held accountable will serve as a deterrent and prevent others from engaging in this illegal and invasive conduct."
According to a factual proffer submitted at the plea hearing, over the course of a three-year period, Rosen purposefully positioned himself outside of the windows of women who resided in basement-level apartments that faced rear, isolated alleys. The women believed they were shielded from outside view by the use of curtains, blinds, or the fact that their windows were situated in enclosed, hard-to-access to areas, either behind fences, through back residential alleys, or down a flight of basement steps. Once positioned behind these women’s apartments, Rosen peered through their windows and used his iPhone to record them. The activities took place in the areas of Mount Pleasant, the U Street Corridor, and Adams Morgan.
Rosen recorded the women in various stages of undress, capturing some in the most intimate and private moments in their bedrooms and bathrooms. Several women, had their blinds or curtains drawn, but Rosen was able to maneuver himself and his cell phone in between the cracks or small openings of the blinds to make his recordings.
All of the recordings took place during the late evening hours, thus enabling Rosen to hide in the shadows as he recorded these women in their lit bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchens, and living rooms. At times, Rosen would engage in this conduct while walking his dog, thus disguising his true intentions. None of the women were aware that Rosen was watching and recording them, and none gave Rosen permission to watch and record them. For several of these women, the defendant returned on more than one occasion to record their private moments.
In announcing the plea, Acting U.S. Attorney Cohen and Chief Lanier commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. In addition, they expressed appreciation for the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Criminal Investigator John Marsh, Victim/Witness Advocate Veronica Vaughan and Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsay Suttenberg, who investigated and prosecuted the matter.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
