Amazon has come under fire for enabling perverts by selling hidden cameras disguised as mundane objects, a lawsuit complains.
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of an underage Brazilian girl, accuses the company of being complicit in the case of her American foreign exchange host guardian allegedly recording her while naked, reports Fox News.
Darrel Wells of West Virginia is accused of secretly recording the girl with a camera that was made to resemble a clothes hook when she was staying at his home in 2021.
He allegedly used the hidden camera to “film her in her private spaces like the bathroom and bedroom,” the outlet reported.
Prosecutors accuse Wells of possessing 600 child pornographic images and have charged him with ten counts of criminal invasion of privacy and child porn.
While the criminal case against the accused predator is underway, the unnamed Brazilian student is alleging that Amazon failed to remove the camera from its site despite being aware of the harm it could cause.
The company, worth more than a trillion dollars, attempted to get the case dismissed in March, but a judge ruled against it. According to the judge, Amazon cannot feign ignorance when a buyer is using a certain product for its advertised purpose, Fox reported.
The victim is seeking a jury trial and compensation for damages.
While that particular hidden camera has since been made unavailable on Amazon’s platform, similar products are still available for purchase under the search terms “clothes hook spy camera” and “clothes hook hidden camera.”
Other hidden cameras disguised as smoke detectors, alarm clocks, and phone chargers also litter the site, prompting worry of similar crimes happening to more unsuspecting victims.
