A Durango business owner is suspected of placing a hidden video camera in a business bathroom and capturing images of four people in various states of undress, according to the Durango Police Department.
Police have served Wade Allen Bigall, 59, with a summons accusing him of four counts of invasion of privacy for sexual gratification, a Class 2 misdemeanor, said Detective Sgt. Bobby Taylor with the Durango Police Department.
A person commits invasion of privacy for sexual gratification if they “knowingly observe or take a photograph of another person’s intimate parts ... without the person’s consent in a situation where the person observed or photographed has a reasonable expectation of privacy,” according to state statute.
Bigall declined to give a statement to police on the advice of his attorney, Taylor said.
The camera was placed in a unisex bathroom inside Element Window + Door, which sells windows, doors and hardware at 360 South Camino del Rio, Suite 200, south of downtown Durango. The camera was positioned in a way that it could capture images of people when they had a reasonable expectation of privacy, Taylor said.
"He hid the camera behind an item in the bathroom that was strategically placed to take photographs," Taylor said.
The Durango Police Department learned of the situation March 9. The police department contacted Bigall, who cooperated with investigators by turning over a laptop computer and giving police permission to search his computer. The camera had already been removed from the bathroom, but police could tell where the camera had been placed based on footage recorded by the camera, he said.
Police also obtained a search warrant to seize Bigall’s electronic devices, Taylor said.
A forensic examination of the computer found still photographs and short videos clips of people in the bathroom, he said. Police ultimately identified four victims, one man and three women, he said. Police are unaware of additional victims.
“We have no information that he downloaded them (videos) to any other sites or anything like that,” Taylor said. “We think it was just for personal use, to our knowledge.
“This was definitely not normal surveillance, and you wouldn’t put that in a restroom anyway,” Taylor said. “This was definitely a hidden recording device.”
The recordings occurred in 2020 and 2021, he said.
The four alleged victims have filed a lawsuit in District Court accusing Bigall of emotional distress and invasion of privacy.
“Wade Allen Bigall’s actions were in whole or in part motivated by his sexual desires and gratification,” according to the lawsuit filed by Durango attorneys Matthew Campbell and Amos Soignier.
Campbell did not return a phone call seeking comment, and Soignier’s legal office declined to comment for this story.
Bigall’s defense attorney, Bobby Duthie of Durango, said Bigall’s actions were wrong and he is seeking therapy. He said Bigall offers his apology to his victims.
“We’ve cooperated fully with law enforcement, and we’re going to work through this,” he said.
Efforts to reach Bigall were unsuccessful.
Police served Bigall with a criminal summons April 29. The case has since been turned over to the 6th Judicial District Attorney’s Office for review and possible filing of formal charges.
District Attorney Christian Champagne said his office has not yet reviewed the case for charges, but he expects to know more by next week.
shane@durangoherald.com
