22 St. Albert tanning salon customers recorded without their knowledge: RCMP

A tanning bed is seen in North Vancouver on March, 20, 2012. (Jonathan Hayward / The Canadian Press)

Twenty-two customers at a St. Albert tanning salon were recorded while changing without their knowledge, RCMP allege.

Mounties announced 22 voyeurism charges, as well as one count of possessing child pornography, against Matthew David Belford, 37, on Friday.

Police began investigating in May 2022 after one victim reported seeing a cell phone being raised above a partial wall while she was changing.

Belford was arrested that day.

On his phone, investigators found what appeared to be 23 videos that were secretly taken of 22 salon customers and a "very large amount of child pornography."

In January, Belford was arrested again and police searched his St. Albert home and seized more electronic devices, which investigators are still examining.

“This has been a complex investigation requiring our officers to comb through thousands of images, and videos, and linking them to specific times, victims, and dates,” St. Albert RCMP's Cpl. Terrence Willard said in a statement.

“Although this investigation is still ongoing, we felt that we were in a position to move ahead with charges.”

Belford was released from police custody with a March 4 court date.

RCMP did not disclose the name of the tanning salon.