Rowan University student accused of recording female students on campus

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Friday, November 22, 2019
Rowan student accused of filming female students while they undress
Rowan student accused of filming female students while they undress. Bob Brooks reports on Action News at 11 on Nov. 21, 2019.

GLASSBORO, New Jersey (WPVI) -- A 29-year-old man is facing hundreds of charges after police said he was spying on and recording female students around the Rowan University campus.

Police said Mitchell Merkowsky, a Rowan student, recorded the girls sometimes while they were undressing in their dorms and apartments.

Detectives said Merkowsky was caught thanks to other students' quick thinking.

On November 6, students spotted Merkowsky on the fourth floor of a parking garage on Rowan Boulevard, looking into the apartments across the street.

Arriving officers said they found him with a pair of binoculars.

Investigators said he confessed to watching four girls across the street.

Police said he was initially charged for invasion of privacy, but after detectives confiscated his cell phone, laptop, and a flash drive, he now faces upwards of 250 additional charges.

Rowan spokesperson Joe Cardona said none of the females recorded could be identified on the videos.

The university held a meeting Thursday night to explain to students what happened and offered counseling should anyone need it.

Merkowsky is being held without bail at the Salem County Jail.