A Durango man reported to jail this week after being sentenced to 45 days in jail for putting a hidden camera in a bathroom and capturing images of four people in various states of undress.
In addition to serving 45 days in jail, Wade Allen Bigall, 60, must serve five years on probation, register as a sex offender and complete recommended treatment. He also faces more than $6,000 in fines and costs.
Bigall pleaded guilty to four counts of invasion of privacy for sexual gratification, all misdemeanors, in a plea agreement with the 6th Judicial District Attorney’s Office. The plea agreement originally called for 10 days in jail, but District Judge Todd Norvell rejected the plea agreement, saying it didn’t send a strong enough message compared with the harm Bigall caused his victims.
The District Attorney’s Office returned with a plea agreement calling for 45 days, which Norvell accepted on June 3.
Bigall placed a hidden camera in a unisex bathroom at his business, Element Window + Door at 360 South Camino del Rio, Suite 200, in south Durango. After learning of the hidden camera, police served a search warrant and found still photographs and short videos clips of people in the bathroom, including three women and a man, according to the Durango Police Department.
The recordings occurred between June 1, 2020, and March 9, 2021, according to the plea agreement.
Law enforcement said the victims had a reasonable expectation of privacy.
During his first sentencing hearing, Bigall’s defense lawyer, Ryan Brungard, said Bigall had a “flirtatious affair” with an employee that became addictive. He took it too far, seeking greater highs and benefits, which eventually led him to place a hidden camera in the bathroom, Brungard said.
Bigall apologized to his victims, saying his obsession got the best of him, and that good people make bad mistakes.
shane@durangoherald.com
