Landlord accused of spying on teen tenant

EAST PATCHOGUE (WABC) -- A landlord on Long Island is accused of spying on a teenage tenant.

The suspect has known the teenage victim since she was 11 years old.

Her family says he was not only as their landlord, but a close family friend.

Now, they want him prosecuted to the fullest extent the law allows.

"He's been videotaping my daughter, who's 16 years old," the victim's father, Robert Hayducka, said. "He had a camera in our ceiling, which there were holes in my bathroom and in my daughter's room. Nowhere else were there holes but in my daughter's room."

Louis Basco, 44, is under arrest for unlawful surveillance, a felony charge, involving a 16 year old girl.

The girl's parents say Basco is their landlord who lives in a discreet camper in their backyard. He made bail and is back home.

Police say Basco, who's also a self-employed handyman, wired surveillance cameras to peer into the 16 year old's bedroom and bathroom. They say he gained access from her attic, where he comes and goes as the property owner.

How long he allegedly spied on the girl isn't yet known, but investigators said Basco had a full-size monitor in his camper where he watched her live and recorded her every move.

"There's physical evidence and circumstantial that led to the arrest of Mr. Basco," Lieutenant Edward Reilly said.

But it wasn't until the 16 year old girl ran outside to say hello to Basco that she caught sight of a chilling image of her own bedroom on a monitor through his camper window.

That's when she alerted police and a search warrant was executed-resulting in his arrest.

"I really would like to go over there and kill him," Hayducka said. "I know I shouldn't say that, but I would really like to hurt this guy, because, and I can't, because there are laws that protect him."

"You feel like your helpless. You feel like how do you protect your daughter from all of this," her mother said.

The family plans to stay in their trailer temporarily. They say they have an order of protection against their landlord, but still worry about things like other potential hidden cameras and retaliation.

NEW YORK AND TRI-STATE AREA NEWS

USEFUL LINKS:

VIEWER PHOTOS AND VIDEOS

REPORT TYPO

GET WIDGET

EYEWITNESS TWITTER

FIND US ON FACEBOOK

Get more Local News »

local news, emily smith

• Comment Now
• Email
• Print
• Report a typo
•