Primera Police Officer arrested for having hiding camera in minor’s room

PRIMERA — A Primera Police Officer has been arrested for installing a hidden camera in a minor’s room, according to a press release by the Cameron County District Attorney’s Office Special Investigations Unit.

Joel Alex Sandate, 31, was charged with one count of Possession or Promotion of Child Pornography, a third degree felony and one count of Invasive Visual Recording, a State Jail Felony.

A tip came in to the District Attorney’s office Wednesday regarding allegations about the hidden camera in the bedroom of a 14-year-old.

The camera was obtaining images of the minor without her knowledge, according to the press release.

At midnight, the special investigations unit executed a search warrant that verified the location of the camera and the content.

Investigators attempted to interview Sandate, and then booked him at the Carrizales Detention Center. Sandate was arraigned Thursday by Judge Erin Garcia who issued a $75,000 total bond, stated the press release.