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Police: Employees, Customers Secretly Videotaped At Hillsborough Tanning Salon

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HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. — When police hauled boxes of evidence away from A Day At The Beach tanning salon in Hillsborough on Tuesday, the owner said they were investigating a burglary. On Wednesday, employees and customers learned what was in those boxes.

Court records show police seized three cameras, a VCR and 22 secretly recorded tapes.

Police told Lori Knight she was the woman on one of the tapes.

"I just busted out crying. To know you're being done like that while you're trying to tan," Knight said.

Employees say owner Billy Apple, a retired Durham police officer, had a special arrangement with the young women he hired.

"We didn't get paid. It was all free tanning. Now I see why," salon employee Patricia Tackett said.

According to the search warrant, Apple is on two of the tapes. Police say he can be seen going into the booths and adjusting equipment on the wall. Employees told WRAL that the cameras were hidden in air purifiers that were mounted on the walls and labeled with stickers that said, "Do Not Touch."

Police learned about the salon while they were investigating

Timothy Brewer

, a former Hillsborough police officer accused of stealing drugs and money from an evidence room. They say the two cases are not directly connected.

Police want to know how many women are on the tapes. Police say making secret videotapes is a misdemeanor that falls under peeping laws. Apple has not been charged.

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