Illinois Bar Owner Convicted of Videotaping Women in Bathroom, Tanning Booth

PONTIAC, Ill. – A man was convicted of secretly videotaping women at his bar as they used the bathroom and a tanning booth.

A judge hearing the case without a jury convicted William Lutson on Tuesday after reviewing 90 minutes of videotape from cameras hidden in a light fixture over a toilet and in a laundry basket at the Grand Ole Bar in Chatsworth.

Prosecutors said Lutson, 57, secretly recorded at least 12 women at the central Illinois bar in July 2005. Lutson never testified and his lawyer, Lance Cagle, never explained why his client hid cameras, which were hooked up to a recorder in Lutson's living quarters nearby.

Some of the women were minors, prosecutors said.

"They were videoed, transmitted and recorded all without consent, permission or authority," prosecutor Carey Luckman said. "Each of these women expressed their disbelief, the shock ..."

Lutson is scheduled for sentencing March 24 on four felonies and 20 misdemeanors. Each felony carries a maximum five-year sentence. Each misdemeanor carries a sentence of up to a year and a $2,500 fine.