Man gives girlfriend a bedside alarm clock – with a camera hidden inside, Texas cops say

Police say a Texas man gave his girlfriend an alarm clock last fall — and told her she had to keep it by her bed, media outlets report.

The “gift” was more than a clock, though.

Jonathan David Welch, 23, is accused of secretly recording his girlfriend for months with a camera hidden inside the clock, the Austin American-Statesman reported.

Welch gave his girlfriend the alarm clock in October and told her to keep it “right next to her bed,” according to an arrest affidavit obtained by the newspaper.

About six months later, the girlfriend’s roommate told her that she found out it was also a camera, according to the newspaper. Welch had told the roommate’s boyfriend of the secret camera, police said, according to KVUE.

The woman told investigators that she frequently was “intimate” in front of what she believed was just a clock, according to KTBC.

Police obtained a search warrant of the device and found intimate images of the girlfriend, KVUE reported. Police said the recordings also showed Welch pointing the camera at the woman’s bed, according to KTBC.

Welch was charged with felony invasive recording, according to KTBC. If convicted, he could spend up to two years in jail and pay a $10,000 fine, according to the Austin American-Statesman.

This story was originally published September 4, 2019 at 6:34 PM with the headline "Man gives girlfriend a bedside alarm clock – with a camera hidden inside, Texas cops say."