Spokane security guard pleads guilty to peeping on women using Homeland Security cameras

Darin Earl Wanless, a 33 year old security guard at the federal courthouse complex in downtown Spokane, pled guilty to a single count of felony voyeurism for incidents last year when he watched women undressing. He ogled a woman inside condoes and a second victim inside a hotel. He originally faced 4 counts of voyeurism last August, and is scheduled to be sentenced to a jail range of between 0 and 90 days in jail (not prison) by Spokane County Superior Court Judge Maryann Moreno.

“We’ve got boobies!” Wanless exclaimed while watching one of the women, according to court documents. The charging documents name the women involved, but The Spokesman-Review does not generally name victims of sex crimes.

Federal investigators who reviewed recordings from the security camera between May 15 and June 11 last year determined that Wanless made inappropriate use of the cameras on 22 other occasions, court documents say. The rooftop cameras, including four on each corner of the post office, are controlled from the adjoining U.S. Courthouse, and the images they capture are reviewable.

Department of Homeland Security funds paid for the digital cameras. A senior law enforcement official had previously told the newspaper the cameras are so powerful they can be used to count ice cubes in a tumbler in an adjoining building.

Secure Solutions LLC, under contract with Federal Security Services, a division of ICE (Immigration & Customs Enforcement) to provide security for the federal complex (including the courthouse and post office, fired Wanless after a fellow security guard reported him.

Lorie Dankers, Pacific Northwest spokeswoman for ICE, held Wanless as an example of what not to do when behind the surveillance camera. “He’s an example of what you should not do. That’s been underscored since this incident.”

Wanless was ordered to serve 3 years supervision, pay $500 to a victims’ compensation fund, and register as a sex offender for the next 10 years by Judge Moreno. One of the victims will read her victim impact statement at next month’s sentencing. The prosecutor was Spokane County Deputy Prosecutor Kelly A. Fitzgerald.