A Texas couple has initiated legal action against a Maryland resident.
They allege that hidden cameras recorded them during intimate moments in the bathroom of the house they rented from him through Airbnb.
Kayelee Gates and her fiancé, Christian Capraro, had driven for 23 hours to reach Silver Spring, Maryland.
They planned to stay two nights in August 2022. But their trip turned into a nightmare when they discovered hidden cameras in the home.
They had rented a bedroom in the house of Christopher Goisse using the Airbnb platform.
The couple found two cameras camouflaged as smoke detectors in the bedroom and bathroom. Court filing
On their first evening, the couple spent some intimate time together in the shared bathroom.
Afterwards, they moved to the bedroom, turned on a movie, and started to unwind, as mentioned in court documents reported by Fox 5 DC.
While they were relaxing in bed, Capraro, whose job involves installing smoke detectors, grew suspicious when he noticed that the room was equipped with two smoke detectors.
One was directly above the bed, in the center of the ceiling, and another was placed in a corner.
His suspicions led him to discover a hidden camera in the detector above the bed, as stated in the lawsuit.
Kayelee Gates and her fiancé, Christian Capraro, found the cameras after they had been “intimate” in the bathroom. Kayelee Gates/Facebook
A similar hidden camera was also found in the bathroom.
Realizing their privacy had been violated, the couple decided they couldn’t stay a moment longer.
Capraro removed the hidden camera from the bedroom, and they immediately checked into a hotel where they contacted the Montgomery County Police Department.
Gates shared her distress with Fox 5 DC, stating she experienced “embarrassment, humiliation, disgrace, and loss of dignity” because of the ordeal.
“I definitely have had many cry sessions about it,” she explained.
The cameras were found in the house at 1103 Dale Drive, Silver Spring, Maryland.Google Maps
“Like, I can feel my heart start beating really heavy and fluttery whenever I start thinking about the situation. Whenever I start thinking about the situation — I get a little shaky even talking about it.”
When the police investigated the property, they uncovered another hidden camera disguised as a smoke detector in the basement, where another guest was staying.
The couple’s attorney, Dan Whitney Jr., expressed their deepest concerns, explaining that not knowing where the recordings might end up is like “opening Pandora’s box.”
“Once that box is open, once that recording is made, it’s impossible to know where it went, who sent it, has it been shared, has it gone on the internet?” Whitney told the news outlet.
At the time of the police’s arrival, Christopher Goisse, who is a licensed psychiatric nurse practitioner in Maryland, was in the master bedroom of the home.
The couple is suing Christopher Goisse for $75,000.Kayelee Gates/Facebook
Initially, he allowed the police to search the house but later refused them entry into his twin brother, Larry Goisse’s bedroom.
Christopher misled the police to believe his brother was not at home.
However, the police soon discovered that Larry was indeed in the bedroom.
He “eventually emerged, presumably after taking the time to destroy evidence,” the lawsuit claims.
In Larry’s room, the police found a locked safe. Larry refused to provide the code for it.
The couple’s attorney said they are concerned that recordings have already made it to the internet.FOX 5 DC
The police had to return later with a search warrant to open the safe, where they found “multiple hidden cameras, including but not limited to the hidden camera smoke detectors removed from the bathroom.”
The lawsuit holds Christopher legally accountable for his brother Larry’s actions in placing the hidden cameras on the property.
Currently, Larry Goisse is in jail following a separate incident. He pleaded guilty to federal charges of drug diversion and health care fraud on October 4, 2022.
During his sentencing, his attorney mentioned his struggles with methamphetamine addiction and mental illness.
“It gives me the heebie-jeebies not knowing if someone looks at me weird if there’s a potential they have seen it. That always lurks in the back of my head every time I meet somebody,” Gates told Fox 5 DC.
Christopher Goisse has previously suggested that his guests had planted the cameras themselves, according to Fox 5 DC.Google Maps
The couple is now seeking damages exceeding $75,000 to compensate for the immense stress and invasion of privacy they have endured.
Christopher Goisse has been given 30 days to respond to the lawsuit.
He has previously denied any involvement, suggesting to the outlet that it was a “possibility” the guests themselves might have installed the devices.
Update: The lawsuit is still active, with the most recent court filings submitted in May 2024 as the case continues to develop.
