WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – A Florida landlord is accused of hiding cameras in his rental apartments and viewing four female tenants, authorities said.
Steven Fair, 61, of West Palm Beach, was arrested Wednesday night and charged with three counts of voyeurism, one count of stalking and six counts of burglary in an unoccupied dwelling, according to Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office online booking records.
Bail was set at $80,000 after Fair appeared in court on Thursday, online records show.
A 21-year-old woman told police that Fair constantly made sexual comments toward her, WPTV reported. The woman said Fair asked her to go with him to nude beaches and asked if he could “borrow her for 1K,” the television station reported.
The woman said she lived in an upstairs studio apartment from Aug. 3, 2020, to Sept. 10, 2020, WPEC reported.
The woman said that after she refused Fair’s advances, he asked her to move out of the apartment because a family member was going to live there, the television station reported.
The woman said she later received several phone calls and voicemails from a man in late February and early March, WPEC reported. According to police, the man claimed to have nude videos of the woman and had posted them online, the television station reported. The woman told police she had never given anyone permission to record her, adding that she recognized the voice of the man on the voicemail and said it was Fair.
During a consent-controlled phone call on March 12, Fair told the woman what happened to her “was karma because she left the apartment a mess,” WPTV reported. He denied calling her, but said that “he got the last laugh.”
Police later discovered a second woman had filed a video voyeurism report on Feb. 12, 2013, WPEC reported. She told police she rented the apartment from Fair from January 2008 to May 2008.
After she moved out of the apartment, the woman said she received several calls from Fair, who claimed to have videos of her showering, the television station reported.
On Wednesday, police executed a search warrant at Fair’s apartment, where he admitted to calling and harassing prior tenants, WPEC reported. There was a different woman living in the apartment at the time of the search, the television station reported.
Police said they found small drill holes in the south wall of the bedroom, and behind that wall was Fair’s upstairs attic. They also found what appeared to be a face mark on the wall to look into the apartment, according to WPTV.
Another woman, who was living downstairs in the rear cottage, said she had been Fair’s tenant since 2016 and lived in the upstairs apartment from 2016 until July 2020. She then moved to the detached cottage for more living space, according to WPTV.
Police said they also searched the cottage and found holes in her east bedroom wall, which is attached to Fair’s detached garage, the television station reported.
Sgt. David Lefont of the West Palm Beach Police Department said investigators believe there could be more victims.
“We know for certain that additional people rented from him,” Lefont told WPTV. “Whether they’re victims or not, we have to establish that.”
