Tempe School Security Guard Charged With Voyeurism After Video Audit Flags Him

A Tempe Union High School District employee is behind bars after an internal review of campus security video logs uncovered unauthorized downloads, leading to a felony voyeurism charge. Antony Nikai Cruz was arrested Saturday and booked into the Tempe City Jail on one count of voyeurism for sexual gratification, with bond set at $100,000.

The arrest follows reporting from AZ Family, which first identified Cruz as a Tempe high school security guard accused of filming underage girls in a locker room. He made an initial court appearance Sunday in Tempe. According to FOX 10 Phoenix, Cruz remains in custody pending further legal proceedings on the single felony count.

Internal Audit Triggered the Investigation

The case did not begin with a tip or a victim complaint — it started with routine district oversight. Per YourValley.net, a district security supervisor conducted an internal audit of video logs on August 21 and discovered unauthorized access to, and downloading of, campus footage. That discovery was reported to the Tempe Police Department, which opened the criminal investigation that led to Cruz's arrest the following day.

Tempe police officials said Sunday that investigators are continuing follow-up inquiries to determine the full extent of the footage download and to identify potential victims, the outlet's report notes. That statement leaves open how many students may have been recorded and whether any of the downloaded material was shared or distributed beyond Cruz's own access — questions authorities have not yet answered publicly.

What Arizona Law Says About the Charge

Cruz's case falls under Arizona Revised Statutes § 13-3019, which classifies secretly photographing, filming, or viewing someone without consent in places where they have a reasonable expectation of privacy — such as locker rooms or restrooms — as a Class 5 felony, according to FindLaw. The statute does carve out an exception for security cameras when prominent notice is posted, but that exemption does not extend to areas where students expect privacy, like changing rooms.

A Class 5 felony conviction in Arizona carries a sentencing range of six months to 2.5 years in state prison, along with fines that can reach $150,000, per the Tamou Law Group. Cruz has not yet faced formal sentencing, and the case remains in its early stages following his initial court appearance.

Part of a Broader Pattern in the Valley

Tempe Union High School District operates six comprehensive high schools serving more than 12,000 students across 162 square miles of Maricopa County, according to Ballotpedia. The district also maintains intergovernmental agreements with local municipalities to co-fund School Resource Officers and security operations across its campuses, per city records reviewed by the City of Phoenix.

This is not the first school-related voyeurism case to surface in the Phoenix metro area this year. In July, a former Glendale High teacher got four years in prison and lifetime supervised probation after pleading guilty to voyeurism for secretly recording students on campus. That same month, Tempe police arrested a local resident on voyeurism and burglary charges after detectives caught him secretly recording a woman through a home window, marking the department's second voyeurism-related arrest in as many months.

The extent of the footage Cruz allegedly downloaded, the number of victims involved, and whether any material was distributed further remain open questions that Tempe police say they are still working to answer.