SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, April 12, 2017 (Gephardt Daily) — A West Jordan man who worked as a janitor at the Steiner Aquatic Center has been charged with multiple counts of voyeurism involving minors.
Christian Eugene Lovendahl, 44, was charged Wednesday in 3rd District Court with six counts of voyeurism involving a minor victim, which is a third-degree felony; and with voyeurism, a class A misdemeanor.
According to charging documents, on Dec. 21, several girls, ages 11 to 13, played hockey at the Steiner Aquatic Center, 645 S. Guardsman Way, Salt Lake City.
After the game, the young players were changing in a locker room when they noticed a high-set mesh ventilation grid that opened into an adjacent locker room.
Several girls noticed what looked like a blue cell phone or a cell phone in a blue case, positioned in the grid, as if it were recording.
The girls’ coach, alerted to the situation, found Lovendahl exiting the adjacent locker room, according to charging documents. Lovendahl reportedly told the coach he had no phone with him, but needed to go to his car before he discussed the issue.
Lovendahl returned 10 minutes later, then took the coach to his car to show him that the phone, in a blue case, was sitting on the car’s seat.
Lovendahl then picked up his phone, and as the men returned to the building, he removed the phone from its blue case.
Police were summoned, and removed the phone and case from one of Lovendahl’s front pants pockets, the charging document states. After obtaining a search warrant for the phone, investigators found 14 videos had been recorded that day. Ten had been deleted, but of those, four were recovered.
Scenes recorded included a male urinating in a stall, the phone being raised to the ventilation grid located above some urinals, and the girls in various stages of undress, but none of them fully nude. A beard resembling Lovendahl’s was also seen briefly.
The phone’s mic recorded one of the girls stating that she thought there was someone recording on the other side of the wall.
Lovendahl was immediately fired from his janitorial position.
