A grand jury recently returned six indictments against Mitchell Wasek, 28, the son of Buc-ee’s cofounder Michael Wasek, charging him with 21 counts of felony invasive visual recording.
The accusations stem from allegations that Mitchell Wasek secretly filmed more than a dozen individuals in private spaces across two states, according to a May 29 news release from the Travis County District Attorney’s Office (TCDA).
The TCDA Office also disclosed that these charges encompass 13 separate victims who were allegedly subjected to secretive recordings by Wasek over two years.
“The Travis County District Attorney’s Office takes the work of presenting all facts and evidence to a grand jury very seriously,” Travis County District Attorney José Garza said. “In this case, a group of independent Travis County community members heard the evidence and law and decided that Mr. Wasek’s conduct was unlawful.”
Court documents detail an incident in which a party guest discovered a concealed camera’s charging port nestled within a bathroom wall at the family’s residence in Spicewood. The subsequent investigation unveiled footage capturing undressed guests in bathroom and bedroom settings, according to Fox 4 KDFW.
An affidavit obtained by Fox 4 apparently reveals that the recordings documented individuals engaged in ostensibly private activities such as using toilets, showering, changing clothes, and engaging in sexual acts. These videos allegedly span properties owned or inhabited by the Wasek family in Spicewood, Austin, Dallas, and a vacation home in Colorado between 2021 and 2023.
Investigators also uncovered evidence that Wasek’s online shopping history included searches for various spy cameras and related accessories, per Fox 4.
Attorney David Gonzalez, representing Wasek, released a statement to Fox 4 alluding to the complexities of modern surveillance practices and questioning the extent of a homeowner’s rights to install cameras in their residence without informing any guests.
“This case involves the legal right to install cameras in one’s own home. May a homeowner install a camera in his home without telling housekeepers or guests, or does the guest have a greater legal right than the homeowner? This is one of many thorny legal issues we will be litigating in this case,” Gonzalez said in the statement obtained by Fox 4.
In another case concerning invasive recordings, a 9-year-old girl from Austin was allegedly secretly recorded while utilizing the lavatory on an airplane last year. The accused perpetrator of this incident, an American Airlines flight attendant, is now in federal custody, facing charges related to multiple recording offenses, as reported by The Dallas Express.
On May 29, American Airlines fired its legal team for blaming the 9-year-old involved in the case, according to USA Today.