Man allegedly tries to record stepdaughter in shower; no charges

FRESNO, Calif. -- A man was allegedly caught trying to film his adult stepdaughter in the the shower. But police say because he didn't capture any illegal footage, he cannot be charged.

"That's the shower, and he's trying to set it up in our laundry basket," said stepdaughter Denice Lozano as she showed the video.

The 45-year-old stepfather is accused of trying to record his stepdaughter in the shower, but even after she reported it to police, he hasn't been charged with a crime.

The stepfather is actually a convicted felon and a wanted man with a warrant on a drug charge from a few years ago. The video we acquired could land him in more trouble.

Within the first few frames of the video, its photographer is the center of attention. His face is clear as day, and he looks just like he does in some of his Facebook pictures. The scene is also clear. It's a bathroom, and he moves his camera around until the shower is right in frame. Five minutes after he finishes his adjustments, his stepdaughter walks in, removes the trash, and comes back.

"And then I start my shower," Denice Lozano said.

Lozano says it was just by luck that she tossed her dirty clothes right on top of the laundry basket in her bathroom, blocking most of the camera's view. She says a few weeks later, she borrowed her mother's car, found a SIM card in the center console, and plugged it into her phone.

"I was shocked, like, I didn't even know how to react," she said. "I was scared to even tell my husband."

Lozano says she reported the video to Selma police, but they told her they couldn't do much since it doesn't show her nude. But when we showed the video to defense attorney Ralph Torres, he said everything is there to make an arrest.

"What I see is misdemeanor crime, just on its face," he said. "I think you have clear intent to invade someone's privacy in a private area."

Lozano is an Army National Guard veteran who served a tour of duty in the Iraq War. She doesn't fear much, but she said she is afraid of what else her stepfather might have recorded. Torres says that's exactly why police need to dig deeper.

"Is there more there?" he wondered. "Is this merely the top layer and if we dig further, is there going to be some type of conduct that's more serious?"

Gama said he didn't have anything to say and then hung up on our reporter. Selma police said they are investigating and will get another look at the video soon.