Boalsburg Man Accused of Recording Women in Penn State Dorm Shower

Penn State police on Friday arrested a Boalsburg man accused of secretly recording students while they showered in a University Park residence hall earlier this month.

Xinyu Li, 24, who is not affiliated with the university, admitted to investigators that he took videos on his iPhone of two women while they showered in Hamilton Hall, according to an affidavit of probable cause.

The first woman reported to police on Oct. 7 that she was in the shower around 8 p.m. when she noticed a cell phone above the top of the stall. The phone was pulled away then came back before the person ran out of the bathroom, police wrote.

Investigators reviewed video surveillance footage and obtained several clear shots of a man who entered the residence hall by following others in when they opened the door just before 8 p.m., according to the affidavit. The suspect could not be positively identified at the time.

A second woman reported on Oct. 14 that she was in a Hamilton Hall shower at about 9:40 p.m. when she saw cell phone come under the wall from the stall next to her for a few seconds before the suspect left.

Surveillance video showed the same man from the previous week inside the residence hall in the area of the bathroom at 9:36 p.m. He was later seen exiting the building and leaving in a pickup truck, according to the affidavit.

The truck, police wrote, was registered to a Camp Hill-based moving and storage company for college students, of which Li was identified as the founder and president.

After being taken into custody, Li said he “felt guilty” for taking the videos and deleted them from his phone, according to the affidavit. He consented to a search of his phone, police wrote, and investigators found five videos of nude individuals showering. The videos were allegedly stored in an app disguised as a calculator to prevent detection.

“The safety of our campus community is always Penn State’s top priority, and we are grateful that University Police and Public Safety was able to identify the person believed to be responsible for these disturbing incidents,” Jacqueline Sheader, Penn State police public information officer, wrote in an email. “UPPS, alongside numerous other departments and partners, work hard to develop and nurture the safest possible environment and to provide security services for students, faculty, staff and visitors.

“UPPS reminds the community that following critical safety protocols — such as not permitting unknown individuals access to residence halls — are important to help to keep our campus safe.”

Li was charged with two felony counts of criminal trespass and two misdemeanor counts of invasion of privacy.

He was arraigned on Friday night by District Judge Casey McClain, who set bail at 10% of $10,000. Li is currently detained at the Centre County Correctional Facility.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.