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PEABODY, Mass. – A Massachusetts chiropractor was arrested last week after he was reportedly caught spying on an undressed patient through a camera planted inside the restroom at his office, according to prosecutors.
Dr. Scott Kline, 44, was identified as the electronic peeping Tom and charged on Friday. He is accused of photographing an unsuspecting naked individual after one of his patients noticed an odd-looking plastic coat hook in the bathroom of Back On Track Chiropractic and Wellness Center in Peabody, Massachusetts.
According to the Middlesex District Attorney, the hook appeared “out of place” as it was situated on the wall directly next to the water tank on the toilet and had a small blue light emitting from its side.
The prosecutor’s office wrote, “Upon further inspection the patient observed a blue light on the side of the hanger and discovered that it appeared to be a hidden spy camera complete with a lens on the front, USB port, on/off switch and an SD memory card.”
The patient’s father and another man immediately confronted Kline. During the encounter, the chiropractor reportedly pleaded with the men to keep the discovery a secret, NBC Boston reported, citing a police report.
“Please, please don’t do anything. I have a family,” Kline desperately implored.
“How can we fix this situation? What can we do to make it right?” one of the men recalled to investigators.
Prosecutors said, “The victim also documented what he observed on his personal cell phone and provided that to police” on Friday, July 14.
“A search warrant was subsequently granted and executed at the practice, and while the camera was no longer in the bathroom, police were able to find evidence suggesting it had previously been in place,” the DA’s office said in a press release. “Police were also able to locate several pieces of digital evidence including hard drives and SD cards.”
A velcro strip remained on the wall where the victim had observed the camera, and a police K9 alerted that an SD card had previously been attached to the strip, the New York Post reported.
Although Kline told police he destroyed the camera “by stomping on it and flushing it down the toilet,” investigators later found the device locked in a drawer at the office.
Moreover, the camera was found stashed alongside hard drives containing “an extensive pornography collection as well as some work related material,” according to the police report.
“There were hundreds of homemade images and videos of many women in different stages of undress and involved in sexual activity. Kline can be seen in some of these photos as well.”
Investigators said hundreds of homemade porn videos stashed inside the Back on Track Chiropractic office, some of which were filmed inside the exam rooms. (Screenshot WCVB 5)
Police discovered hundreds of homemade videos and images. Although some appeared to be consensual encounters, many others were reportedly taken inside the medical office, including on exam tables.
Investigators located a list of 117 women that included their names, ages and number of sexual encounters.
None of the seized videos appeared to be of his patients using the restroom at the office.
According to the police report, Kline acknowledged placing the camera in the office bathroom, but claimed he never used it to record anything.
Several of Kline’s patients told NBC Boston that he reached out to them and said the charges are “false accusations” and “bad rumors.”
Kline was arraigned Tuesday and subsequently released on $10,000 bail. He has since returned to work, reported the New York Post.
“I cannot wait for this to be cleared up and the dust to settle,” the chiropractor reportedly wrote in a text message to a patient.
Investigators are actively processing evidence recovered and working to identify potential victims.
In a brief exchange Wednesday night with a reporter from NBC Boston as Kline left his office, he said, “No comment, but thank you for waiting around. … I had a lot of work to do.”
But when asked about the allegations, he denied any wrongdoing.
Kline is next scheduled to appear in court August 29, for a pretrial conference.
The Massachusetts Licensing Board governing chiropractors has also been notified of the allegations.
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Source: www.lawofficer.com