A 47-year-old Taylor man pleaded guilty last Monday to burglary and stalking charges after investigators say he planted nine hidden devices in and around his ex-girlfriend's Logan home: six cameras and three audio recording devices, with some listening devices tucked directly beneath her bed. Curtis Sims McInelly entered his pleas in Logan's First District Court, admitting to breaking into the residence and installing covert surveillance devices.
According to KVNU News Talk, McInelly pleaded guilty to burglary of a dwelling, a second-degree felony, and stalking a current or former cohabitant, a third-degree felony. The plea agreement dismissed six remaining charges. McInelly was arrested on Feb. 5 while attending a hearing on a protective order.
Police and the victim's family eventually uncovered nine hidden devices in and around the property, including three exterior trail cameras, three interior trail cameras, and three audio recording devices. Several of the listening devices were affixed directly beneath furniture, including under the victim's bed. Investigators seized the interior cameras and audio bugs, and one exterior trail camera appeared to be transmitting a live feed at the time it was discovered.
How the Surveillance Was Uncovered
The victim first reported finding a hidden motion-sensor trail camera inside her home in mid-January. A family member pulled the camera's SD card, and footage recovered from it showed McInelly himself planting the device. Additional SD card footage reviewed by police showed McInelly entering the residence multiple times between Jan. 6 and Jan. 13, and on Jan. 15 he was recorded surreptitiously capturing the victim walking topless in her kitchen area.
The victim told investigators she dated McInelly for up to two years before the pair broke up around October, and that she saw him again at a dance in Salt Lake City in December. She said McInelly never actually lived with her, but that he had returned a key to her home before the surveillance was discovered — a key she believed he had secretly copied. She also said she believed McInelly used the live-feed camera to learn her new school schedule and to coordinate break-ins while she was away from the house.
Statutory Exposure Ahead of Sentencing
Under Utah Code § 76-6-202, entering or remaining unlawfully in a structure with intent to commit a felony or voyeurism is classified as a second-degree felony when it happens inside a residential dwelling. A conviction on that count carries a possible statutory prison term of 1 to 15 years in Utah State Prison and a fine of up to $10,000, per the Utah State Courts. The same source notes that a third-degree felony conviction — the stalking charge McInelly also admitted to — carries a potential sentence of up to five years and fines up to $5,000.
Utah's stalking statute, Utah Code § 76-5-106.5, describes stalking as a course of conduct that can include surveilling a person. FindLaw's summary says the offense may be elevated to a third-degree felony based on specified prior stalking-related or victim-related convictions. McInelly is currently out of jail on $30,000 bail and is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 9.
Part of a Broader Pattern
The case echoes a wider pattern researchers have documented across the state and country. A 2023 Utah State University study found that roughly one in three Utah women, 33.6%, experience intimate partner physical violence, sexual violence, or stalking in their lifetime, according to Utah State University. Nationally, about 80% of stalking victims report that technology was used to monitor or track them.
With sentencing set for Dec. 9, it remains to be seen whether Cache County prosecutors will push for prison time or whether McInelly could face probation instead, and what protective measures or supervision terms a judge might ultimately order.
