Luzerne County Central Court

Luzerne County Central Court

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WILKES-BARRE — A Wilkes-Barre man is facing charges he used his cell phone to record inside a courtroom at Luzerne County Central Court earlier this month.

Bryan Robert Smith, 52, of Park Avenue, didn’t record a court proceeding.

Instead, police say Smith recorded a woman’s buttocks during a court proceeding, according to court records.

Police charged Smith with unlawful use of an audio or video device in court. The second-degree misdemeanor charge was filed with District Judge Thomas F. Malloy Sr. in Wilkes-Barre.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled Aug. 26 at Central Court.

According to the criminal complaint:

A city police officer at Central Court on July 8 was advised by District Judge Joseph Zola and a victim that Smith was using a cell phone to record inside the courtroom. Zola was assigned to Central Court that day.

Zola and the victim were working in their official capacity during the alleged incident.

Several signs are posted in Central Court that recording is prohibited.

When Zola and a clerk asked Smith what he as doing, Smith began to cry and admitted he was recording the victim, the complaint says.

Police in the complaint say Smith recorded the victim’s buttocks as she stood in front of him at the bench during his preliminary hearing on unrelated charges.

Smith consented to a search of his cell phone and deleted the footage after the footage was transferred to the officer as evidence, the complaint says.