Crime & Safety

Police Pop Peeper for Allegedly Videotaping Stepdaughter

Police say a man set up a video camera to secretly record his teenage stepdaughter while she was naked.

A local man secretly filmed his teenage stepdaughter getting in and out of the shower, police said.

Timothy Zak, 45, of the 800 block of Johnstown Lane in Wheaton was taken into custody Friday afternoon by sheriff's deputies and booked into the Will County Jail.

Joliet police detectives worked up the case against Zak, who was reportedly living at 7004 Waterway Court on Joliet's far west side, but now resides at Johnstown Lane in Wheaton, according to jail records.

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Police secured two felony charges of unlawfully videotaping a person younger than 18 against Zak nearly a month ago. A source said Zak has been traveling and staying in different counties for his job managing pizza restaurants and had proven hard to find, which is why he was only arrested Friday.

Even though Zak allegedly videotaped his underage stepdaughter when she was naked and without her knowledge, detectives could not go after a child pornography charge, police sources said. At 17, the girl was too old to substantiate a child pornography charge, one source said. And even though she was naked, she was not performing a sexual act when recorded, another police source said.

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The warrant for Zak's arrest carries a $20,000 bond. He was released Friday night.

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