Mesa man accused of secretly filming neighbors through windows. Family says this is a friend of theirs.

MESA, Ariz. — Erik Contos, 42, of Mesa, is facing multiple felony charges after police say he recorded individuals through the windows of their homes, and investigators believe there may be additional victims.

According to the Rod family, they first reported the incident to Mesa police in February after one of their four daughters said she saw a phone filming her while she was in her bathroom. The family said they never expected their own neighbor to be the main suspect.

“This is a neighbor of ours. This is a friend of mine. This is a family friend of ours. We hung out with them all the time. Parties. Just constantly together. So, this is a huge impact of our family,” Jason Rod, a Mesa neighbor, said.

The Rods said they maintained a close relationship with Contos until Feb. 10, when the incident occurred.

“Got home from the gym with my boyfriend and went to go take a shower at around 10 o’clock at night, and I walked into the bathroom, turned the light on, and realized I saw a phone peering into a tiny bathroom window above our shower. It’s very high up above, so not very noticeable, but I saw a camera peeking down into it immediately,” Gianna Rod, Jason’s 17-year-old daughter, said.

The family said their daughter immediately told her father, who went into the backyard with a flashlight.

“I wasn’t really expecting anybody to be there, and then I just hit my flashlight down my side yard, and there was a person standing there. I just took off after him. I went and jumped the wall, and they just kind of disappeared very quickly. I kind of walked over around to the neighbor’s house to our south and saw a light turn on their side yard, and it was a motion light. So, I knew that this person had gone that way,” Jason Rod said.

Jason Rod said that based on the clothing he saw and a conversation with his neighbor shortly after, he believed the person was Contos.

Police said detectives served a search warrant six days later and seized Contos’ phone. Investigators said they found several images of three individuals connected to the Rod family taken from outside the residence.

The suspect was initially arrested on charges of burglary, surreptitious photography and voyeurism, but was later released on $75,000 cash bail. Authorities said further investigation led to his second arrest in March on additional charges, including sexual exploitation of a minor.

The Rod family said some of the images may date back years and that their focus is now on helping others.

“To focus on getting those pictures out and getting the other victims identified so we can hopefully get more charges, more awareness in the community,” The Rod’s eldest daughter, Arianna, said.

Police are asking anyone with information about the case to contact the Mesa Police Department.

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