LIVINGSTON—A Columbia County Sheriff’s deputy has been suspended from his job and faces a felony charge for taking nude photos of a woman without her knowledge and then posting them on the Internet.
Thomas G. Bagnall, 27, of Hudson was charged with second degree unlawful surveillance, a class E felony, by State Police investigators from the Livingston barracks, December 30 at 10:05 p.m.
In August, a woman was told by an acquaintance that they had seen nude photos of her displayed on the Internet. These photos were taken without the woman’s knowledge and she contacted State Police to report the incident.
Following an extensive investigation, it was discovered that Mr. Bagnall had allegedly taken the photos of the woman dressing and undressing in November 2010 from outside the woman’s Livingston residence without her consent. The images were subsequently posted on the Internet.
Mr. Bagnall has been a Sheriff’s deputy for the past four years. He was suspended without pay “as soon as he was arrested,” Sheriff David Bartlett told The Columbia Paper Wednesday. His office has fully cooperated with the State Police investigation, the sheriff said.
Mr. Bagnall was arraigned in Livingston Court and sent to the Columbia County Jail in lieu of $5,000 cash bail or $10,000 bond. He was released after posting bail the same night.