$10,000 bond for Slinger teen charged with filming underage girls through peephole

WASHINGTON COUNTY, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Bond was set at $10,000 for a 17-year-old Slinger teen after he was charged with filming underage girls through a peephole in his family's bathroom.

Bryan Seban made his first court appearance Thursday. He faces 27 felony counts, including possession of child pornography and invasion of privacy.

Seban appeared remotely from jail Thursday afternoon, dressed in a button-down shirt and answering the judge's questions with simple yes or no answers.

The judge read aloud the lengthy criminal complaint, which claims Seban filmed more than 10 underage girls without their consent for more than a year while at his family's home.

The 13-page complaint says a Kettle Moraine Lutheran High School student told law enforcement Seban showed him nude photos of an underage girl on his phone. That classmate then alerted authorities.

Seban first denied taking inappropriate photos of anyone, but he later admitted he used a peephole in the drywall to take photos and videos of nude underage girls without their knowledge or consent.

The criminal complaint says it appears the peephole videos start in August 2019 up to September 2022.

Assistant Washington County District Attorney Elizabeth Longo said, "The sheer length of time and number of victims… it's an extremely strong case, your honor."

Seban also admitted every victim was under the age of 18, and none of them knew they were being recorded.

Seban allowed detectives to search his phone. They found 379 photos and 206 videos.

When detectives executed a search warrant for Seban's home, they found a half-inch hole running from a shower stall to a neighboring storage closet. There, detectives found a chair under the hole.

Seban's family was in the courtroom Thursday.

Jonathan LaVoy, Seban's defense attorney, said, "They're devastated by this whole situation. And they're working very hard to be cooperative with the police. And they want to put an end to this situation as quickly as possible."

The state argued for a $10,000 bond.

But Seban's attorney said Seban had withdrawn from his high school and is no longer there with the victims. And he's now in counseling because of this case. So he asked for $5,000.

LaVoy said, "He's age 17, he has absolutely no money himself, all of it will be paid by his parents, who are here."

But Judge James Muehlbauer agreed with the state and set the amount at $10,000.

Her said, "It's a difficult situation, but the charges are serious. And he's presumed innocent at this point, regardless of what anybody here thinks."

Among the conditions: no contact with anyone under 18, no access to the internet unless supervised for school use, and mandatory sobriety.

LaVoy expected Seban's family would post bond Thursday evening and he would be home later that night.

Sheriff's investigators worked with Kettle Moraine Lutheran High School administrators and other school districts to identify and notify the victims.

Each of the 27 counts is a Class I felony that carries a maximum punishment of up to three-and-a-half years in prison, a $10,000 fine or both.