A 31-year-old New Canaan man accused of sliding a cellphone underneath a woman's restroom stall at Norwalk City Hall was extradited back to Connecticut Tuesday, weeks after he allegedly fled the state following the incident. Terrill Kelly now faces a voyeurism charge tied to an August encounter that sent Norwalk police scrambling through security footage to identify him within hours.
The case began on August 17, when a woman told officers that someone had placed a cellphone beneath her restroom stall at Norwalk City Hall just before 1:30 p.m., according to Daily Voice. Officers searched the area surrounding the building but did not find the suspect, the outlet reports. Detectives later worked with City Hall managers and security staff to pull surveillance video, which showed the suspect had entered the Town Clerk's Office around the same time, according to Patch.
Video Review Led Detectives to a Name Within Hours
That footage was enough for Norwalk detectives to identify Kelly within several hours of the alleged incident, per the same Daily Voice account. Norwalk City Hall, at 125 East Avenue, houses departments including the Town Clerk and Tax Collector, according to the City of Norwalk. The cited Wikipedia page discusses routes through New Canaan and Norwalk.
By the time investigators moved to make an arrest, Kelly was no longer in Connecticut. Members of the U.S. Marshals Service Violent Fugitive Task Force took him into custody in the Bronx on September 8, the report notes, and he was held at Rikers Island ahead of his extradition back to Norwalk this week. Norwalk detectives traveled to Rikers Island Tuesday and returned Kelly to Norwalk police headquarters the same day, where he was processed on the voyeurism charge.
Voyeurism Charge Carries Added Weight Because of Prior Probation
Norwalk Police Lt. Ramon Tejada confirmed that Kelly was processed at headquarters on a charge of voyeurism with malice and released on a $50,000 court bond, according to Patch. Investigators also learned during the case that Kelly was already on probation, the outlet reports, a detail that could carry significant consequences separate from the new charge itself.
Under Connecticut General Statutes § 53a-189a(a)(1), a person is guilty of voyeurism with malice when they knowingly film or record another person without consent in a setting where that person has a reasonable expectation of privacy and is not in plain view, according to the Connecticut General Assembly. A conviction under that statute is a Class D felony, carrying a potential sentence of one to five years in prison and fines up to $5,000, per state law.
Kelly's existing probation status is separate from the new criminal case. Under Connecticut General Statutes § 53a-32, someone on probation who picks up new charges can face a violation of probation proceeding, which is decided under a lower standard of proof — a fair preponderance of the evidence — and can result in a judge revoking any suspended prison time, according to Flannery Law. Unlike the new criminal charge, that proceeding would be decided by a judge rather than a jury.
Norwalk's Case Occurred in a Municipal Government Building
Norwalk's case occurred inside a municipal government building rather than a retail store.
Kelly's arraignment date in Norwalk-area Superior Court has not been detailed publicly, and it remains unclear what underlying offense led to his existing probation status. For now, he is back in Connecticut on bond, facing both the new criminal count and the possibility that it could unravel the suspended time from his earlier case.
