Man pleads guilty in toilet voyeurism case

COEUR d'ALENE - A Coeur d'Alene man who installed a camera on a female acquaintance's toilet pleaded guilty to one count of attempted voyeurism.

Richard Fraley, 45, entered his plea on Jan. 22 in front of Kootenai County District Court Judge Fred Gibler. Fraley was initially charged with one felony count of voyeurism. The charge was amended by the Kootenai County Prosecutor's Office.

On the afternoon of June 11, Fraley was at the home of a 22-year-old Coeur d'Alene woman who, according to court records, had been friends with the man for two years. The woman told police Fraley had been at her home multiple times during the previous weeks and was there twice that day.

She said she found Fraley's behavior - repeatedly using the bathroom at her home - to be odd.

"She went into the restroom while Richard was there the second time, and she noticed a small black camera on the right side of the toilet," a police report states. "As she investigated it further, she discovered a white box about 1-inch wide under the top portion of the toilet and an electronics cord which connected the two devices. The cord was tucked between the top of the toilet and the wall."

Unsure of what to do next, the woman decided to immediately disconnect the camera and detach it from the Velcro adhesive. According to the report, she then wrapped the equipment in clothes and placed it in a laundry hamper in her bedroom.

"Shaken by the discovery, she picked up her child and went out onto the balcony," the report states. "Richard told her he was going to get going, but before leaving he had to use the restroom again. She turned her attention away from the bathroom and smoked a cigarette."

Shortly after, Fraley said goodbye to the woman and left the residence. The report states that when the woman went into her bedroom to check the laundry hamper, the camera and other equipment was gone.

A Coeur d'Alene Police Department detective investigating the initial report learned Fraley has a criminal history in Idaho and Washington - most recently an arrest in Kootenai County for possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

In his supplemental report, the detective wrote that he spoke with the woman's boyfriend, who said Fraley was one of a handful of friends the woman has in the area and that he sometimes goes to their home and has coffee and watches movies with the woman.

The boyfriend added that after the incident he spoke with Fraley on the phone and confronted him about the camera.

"(He) said Rich denied it at first, but then (he) started getting upset and yelling at the phone," the detectives report states. "(He) said he began telling Rich that if he didn't tell (him), the (he) was going to call the cops. Rich then told (him) that he did put a camera on the toilet, but said that he never had it turned on."

The report states that Fraley eventually apologized to the woman's boyfriend and said he was calling her so many times because he wanted to apologize to her as well.

The boyfriend told Rich to never come back to his house, to never call him or (his girlfriend) again, and then hung up the phone on Rich," the detective wrote.

Fraley is scheduled to be sentenced for the crime on March 26 in Kootenai County District Court.