A California doctor was arrested in connection with a hidden camera allegedly found in his clinic's bathroom and he is now facing a lawsuit from several families who claim to have been impacted.
Nicholas Vanderhyde, 40, was arrested in June after an investigation into a hidden camera that was found in his Santa Clarita, California, clinic's bathroom, authorities said at the time.
He was arrested on a charge of possession of child pornography, Eyewitness News reported, citing a criminal complaint.
Now, 11 families have filed a lawsuit against him and the Joint Chiropractic clinic, they said at a press conference, Eyewitness News reported.
The investigation unfolded on May 8 when an employee at the clinic allegedly found a camera secretly taped to a cabinet and connected to a power bank in the bathroom, she told Eyewitness News at the time.
The employee, who was not named, told the outlet she discovered the camera when she went to retrieve her phone, which was on the cabinet, after using the bathroom.
"It was pointed directly at the toilet, so they were definitely aiming to record people using the bathroom, people's private parts," she said, per KTLA.
An investigation led authorities to Vanderhyde, who was arrested on June 4, a Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Station said at the time, per Eyewitness News. He has since been released on bail, per KTLA. It is unclear if he's retained an attorney to speak on his behalf.
Now, in a lawsuit filed on Monday, July 29, 17 people claiming to be former patients, including four minors, claim that Vanderhyde violated their privacy after he allegedly "purposely, strategically, and clandestinely placed" the camera in the bathroom "to record patients, including young children, in states of undress."
The lawsuit further alleges that the clinic failed to assist the patients in determining "whether or not their nude or partially nude body was retained in images on Dr. Vanderhyde's technology devices or if their image was distributed electronically in some fashion."
The lawsuit further alleges that The Joint was aware that Vanderhyde was a "predator" who "employed treatment measures not within the scope of services offered generally by The Joint," but that the clinic "allowed" him to continue doing so without any investigation.
"Dr. Vanderhyde was permitted to continue treating patients in his rogue fashion, including insisting on upper, inner thigh massage touching at least one patient's vagina," reads a part of the lawsuit.
In a statement, the Joint Chiropractic facility said they would not discuss "ongoing legal matters" but that "the safety of our patients and staff, and the integrity of the service we provide, are always our highest priorities," according to Eyewitness News.
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