My stepdad (36M) installed a surveillance camera positioned outside of my window to scan our backyard while him and my mother and two younger brothers go camping. I couldn’t go on the trip since i had work, so i was staying home to house sit and feed our animals. My stepdad recently put up new cameras outside so I didn’t see anything wrong with him positioning one outside my window. Come to find out the very next day, I had my boyfriend stay over and he found that the surveillance camera that was ran from outside my window and into my room was being powered by one of those spy camera power blocks.
For context, my relationship with my stepdad hasn’t always been the best and we tend to butt heads a lot. He’s said a lot of questionable things in the past that i’ve written off because he’s my dad and i would never think he intended to be inappropriate or harmful. He’s been in my life since i was 8 years old. Of course I’m second guessing everything now that i’ve found this camera. It was positioned to point directly at my bedroom door from the far wall, so it has direct view of my entire room, which i change in.
I tried desperately to rationalize it and think it was maybe a mistake, like he grabbed the wrong charger box. Or maybe he was just trying to look for intruders. But really there is no excuse for putting a camera in MY bedroom. the camera even had an SD card in it. I’m beyond devastated. My stepdad even suggested i invite my boyfriend over to while they’re gone so i have someone here, which is something he would never do considering he’s made it clear before he doesn’t want him over when no one is home because he doesn’t want us ‘fucking in his home’. My boyfriend and I are going to go through the SD card to see if there is anything on it.
I’m at a complete loss at how to even bring this up to my mom. I confided in my aunt and uncle since they live close by and they have been very supportive of me having a conversation with my mom about it. This whole situation is extremely upsetting, I at least have some family to support me as i navigate this but i don’t even know how to bring this up to my mom. This is obviously going to change everything. She had my five year old half brother with him.
My mind is racing with the consequences this is going to have on our family. Has anyone that has been in a similar situation have advice? How can i do this without causing extreme damage to the family (although that may be impossible). Thank you in advance.
TLDR; i found a hidden camera that my stepdad put in my room, how do i bring this up to my mom?
UPDATE(1/?):
I don’t want to make a whole new thread since i want to make a new update when my parents get back monday, but i want to thank everyone for all the advice. i went to the police station tonight and filed a police report and turned in the spy camera with the SD card. The officer said this is a serious offense and i will likely get a call early next week from an investigator due to the severity of the situation. I’m planning on telling my mother about the police report after we have a conversation about this on monday, with my aunt and uncle present.
As for people messaging me about my profile: thank you for reminding me to delete personal information. Please please do not dox or try to seek any sort of justice for me as this may affect my case. Respect my privacy during this time please as it may be crucial during this investigation.
This was the hardest thing i ever had to do, but whatever this shit was, it’s ending with me. I hope i can get justice for myself and any other victims who may have been violated by him since this will be heavily investigated and the officer said it will likely be looked into further (such as search warrants and looking for more SD cards). i’m hanging on by a thread but the support i have is what’s keeping me together. i’m staying with my boyfriend tonight to keep out of the house. Thanks again for all the love and supportive messages. I’ll update again soon.
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