Digital Peeping Tom Sentenced to Ten Years

DA Charme Allen announces that prosecutors in the Major Crimes Unit and Child Abuse Unit obtained convictions against a man who hid a video camera in the ceiling of the women’s restroom at Concord Park.  Tony Lynn Strand, 34, pled guilty to three counts of Especially Aggravated Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, Burglary, and Observation without Consent.  Judge Hector Sanchez accepted the plea agreement and ordered Strand to serve ten years in prison without the possibility of parole.

In a plea hearing, Assistant District Attorneys Jeannine Guzolek and Ashley McDermott explained to the court that on April 8, 2025, the Knox County Sheriff’s Office received a call from a concerned citizen stating there was a camera in the ceiling of the women’s bathroom at the Cove at Concord Park.  KCSO Det. James Hurst responded and located a hatch to enter the ceiling on the men’s side of the restroom with a broken lock.  Officers crawled through the hatch into the ceiling and found an extension cord running to a camera above the women’s restroom.  Forensics officers were able to recover fingerprints from the camera which came back to Strand.  A forensic download of the sim card on the camera revealed 1574 videos captured between March 24, 2025, and April 4, 2025, including 107 videos of children under the age of thirteen.  Park surveillance videos from that same time period showed Strand in the area multiple times.  Additionally, Strand was seen on body camera video watching responding officers as they were searching for the camera on April 8.  Ultimately, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation crime lab reported that a cigarette butt found in the bathroom ceiling also contained DNA identifying Strand.

“Knox County citizens can feel safer in our parks because of the work of everyone involved in this case,” said DA Allen.

In addition to his prison sentence, Strand will be placed on the Tennessee Sex Offender Registry.  Assistant Victim Witness Coordinator Kim Strike and Legal Secretary Connie Watts aided in the prosecution of this case.

If you have any questions, please contact Sean McDermott at 865-215-2515 or Sean.McDermott@knoxcounty.org. For more information about the District Attorney’s Office, visit our website at dag.knoxcountytn.gov and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.