An employee of Gustave Boulangerie has been charged with multiple counts related to hidden camera recordings in the restaurant’s employee bathroom, including felony charges involving children.
Joshua Hombrebueno, 20, of Oxon Hill, Maryland, faces three felony counts and nine misdemeanor counts of unlawful creation of an image of another, according to the Alexandria Police Department.
The investigation began Sept. 20 when a mother and her 3-year-old daughter discovered an active iPhone camera hidden inside the employee bathroom vanity at the Del Ray bakery, located at 2213 Mount Vernon Avenue.
The mother told police she saw the vanity cabinet doors cracked open and found a phone propped on a roll of toilet paper that was recording, according to a search warrant affidavit. The phone had been recording for approximately 30 minutes, and the mother said she watched the video from the beginning and saw the person who set up the phone.
Police said the employee was briefly detained on Sept. 20 and admitted to placing the phone in the bathroom for the “purposes of recording himself performing sexual acts to later send to his girlfriend who resides in the Philippines,” according to the search warrant affidavit.
After executing a search warrant on the device, detectives recovered recordings depicting multiple victims, including both adults and children, who were unknowingly recorded while using the restroom, police said. Several victims were identified and expressed a desire to press charges.
Detectives from the Criminal Investigations Division worked with the Alexandria Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office to determine appropriate charges.
Hombrebueno, through legal counsel, turned himself in to Detective Duglas Quint on Wednesday, and the arrest warrant was served without incident, police said.
“This was a deeply troubling case involving serious violations of privacy,” said Assistant Chief Tina Laguna of the Investigative Support Bureau. “Our detectives acted swiftly to identify victims and ensure accountability. We are grateful to the community members who came forward to assist with this investigation.”
Karim Mashmour, the owner of Gustave Boulangerie & Brasserie, previously told ALXnow the employee was suspended pending the outcome of the investigation and that the restaurant was fully cooperating with police.
The investigation remains active. Anyone with information is asked to call the Alexandria Police Department non-emergency line at 703-746-4444 or email Detective Quint at [email protected].
