Arkansan who filmed 15-year-old girl taking shower sentenced to prison

Hot Springs Village man gets 6 years

Bryan Benjamin Quinonez
Bryan Benjamin Quinonez

HOT SPRINGS -- A Hot Springs Village man was sentenced to six years in prison Monday after pleading guilty to shooting video of a 15-year-old girl while she was taking a shower.

Bryan Benjamin Quinonez, 28, who has remained in custody since his initial arrest Dec. 5, 2016, pleaded guilty in Garland County Circuit Court to four felony counts of video voyeurism and was sentenced to six years on each count, all to run concurrently, and ordered to pay $250 in court costs.

Quinonez pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of third-degree domestic battery, which he was initially arrested for and was sentenced to one year in jail with a scheduled release date of Dec. 4. The voyeurism charges were filed Jan. 11, while he was in custody in lieu of $2,500 bond.

According to the affidavit, Garland County sheriff's investigators received a report Dec. 5, 2016, from the Arkansas Child Abuse Hotline regarding the video voyeurism of the now 17-year-old female by Quinonez.

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The next day, the victim was interviewed at Cooper Anthony Mercy Child Advocacy Center and stated that, Dec. 4, her mother and Quinonez, her mother's boyfriend of eight to 10 years, were fighting.

She said her mother came into her bedroom and told her she found video of the victim "getting in and out of the shower" on Quinonez's cellphone, according to the affidavit. Her mother told her the video was from when they were living in a previous home in Jessieville when the victim was about 15 years old. The victim said she never saw the video, the affidavit said.

The mother confronted Quinonez about the video and told him she was going to call 911, according to the affidavit, and he grabbed the phone from her but she took it back. Then he choked, scratched and fought with the mother trying to get the phone back but she kept it, escaped and called Hot Springs Village police, the affidavit said.

Officers located Quinonez in the bedroom of the residence and arrested him on the domestic battery charge.

Sheriff's investigator Jennifer Tonseth confirmed later that the video of the victim was shot at the Jessieville residence.

Quinonez was questioned Dec. 9 by Tonseth and advised of the voyeurism allegations against him. He admitted to recording the victim using his phone and claimed he forgot the videos were still on his phone, the affidavit said.

State Desk on 08/09/2017

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