Airline pilot arrested for allegedly using spy cam on UCF student, authorities say
ORLANDO, Fla. - A man is accused of secretly recording a University of Central Florida student in her apartment. Now the victim and her mother are trying to get out of the lease.
"It was awful," said an outraged Barbara Busch, after her 19-year-old daughter was allegedly recorded by a stranger in her apartment unit at the Pointe at Central apartments. "My daughter was crying and very upset. She told me she had seen a green blinking light outside her bedroom window at her apartment at the Pointe."
Investigators said the suspect cut the screen window and then used a camera to record the victim’s entire bedroom.
"It’s something of spy cam. You’re not supposed to know you’re being recorded but it rained that night and it had gotten wet, the camera had gotten moisture in it and was rebooting. And unusually it blinked a green light," Busch explained.
UCF police arrested 54-year-old Vernon Crider. According to the arrest report, he is a Frontier Airlines pilot.
Vernon Crider
Authorities said he flew into Orlando International Airport on September 17 and was off duty on the 19th and 20th, when the video was recorded.
"There was evidence on the video card that indicated who he was. Why is an airline pilot from out of state on Alafaya Drive, Sept, 20, putting a camera in my daughter’s window? Does he do this in other towns? It’s very disconcerting."
Busch said she is concerned Crider was following her daughter and wants to know how he got into this gated apartment complex.
"Even though her blinds were shut the camera could see inside the whole bedroom," she said.
To add to the pain of having her privacy violated, Busch said her daughter can’t break her apartment lease.
"It's very frustrating to have your daughter be the victim of something and then be the victim of the apartment complex."
We reached out to the manager at the Pointe at Central apartments, but he would not comment on the lease issue.
A spokesperson at Frontier Airlines refused to comment on his employment status.
Crider is from Missouri, according to documents.
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