Quakertown Counselor Accused of Secretly Recording Patients

A Quakertown family counselor has been charged with violating patients’ privacy by allegedly using hidden cameras placed in the bathroom at his office to secretly record videos of them.

The Bucks County District Attorney’s office announced late last week that 54-year-old Jonathan Elliot Moyer, of Alburtis, Lehigh County, is charged with one count each of interception of oral communications, possession of a device for interception of oral communications and possession of an instrument of crime, as well as six counts of invasion of privacy.

According to the DA’s office, Moyer was employed at Empower Life Coaching & Counseling at 523 W. Broad St. in Quakertown, when he allegedly set up the hidden cameras by disguising them as charging blocks. The business–which also has an office in Bally, Berks County–has removed Moyer’s profile from its website, but the DA’s office said he “was listed as the office’s program director, working out of both the Berks County and Quakertown office (with) areas of practice (that) were listed as drug and alcohol, anxiety, parent-child interaction and family sessions.”

As of Monday, the Empower Life Coaching & Counseling website stated that the Quakertown office is “permanently closed” and that any patients who were being seen at that office may reschedule their appointments at the Bally office.

The website’s homepage also features a statement about Moyer’s arrest, in which Empower Life Coaching & Counseling says it believes the accusations against Moyer constitute “an isolated event” that occurred only in Quakertown and “possibly only within the past few months,” but acknowledges that “investigators may uncover additional details.”

“This was an act of only one individual,” the statement says. “Remaining staff, as well as clients, are potential victims.”

“We understand this news is disturbing for everyone, and we are working on reaching out to current clients one-on-one,” the statement continues. “Past clients and clients who have not received counseling services in recent months are advised to reach out to the investigators on this case for more information, as we are unsure of the exact timeline of events.”

According to the District Attorney’s office, the investigation that led to Moyer’s arrest began March 3, after the office was alerted to a video that allegedly shows Moyer setting up a recording device in the Quakertown office. The District Attorney said that video was stored on a device that also held “several other videos that showed females using the bathroom.”

“Based on these recordings, it appeared the females in the videos did not know they were being recorded,” the DA’s Crimewatch post about the investigation said.

When detectives visited the Quakertown office on March 4 to serve Moyer with a search warrant and question him about the videos on the device, they said he tried to use the bathroom, but was denied access to it.

“Inside the bathroom at the Quakertown office, police located a suspicious looking black USB charging block plugged into the outlet underneath the bathroom sink and directly across from the toilet,” the Crimewatch news release said. “Upon closer examination, the charging block was discovered to be a covert recording device.”

Authorities said they also “seized several items that included numerous covert charging block cameras like the one found in the Quakertown office bathroom, a covert key fob camera like the one Moyer had in his possession, covert pens and numerous micro-SD cards and media storage devices” from the basement of Moyer’s home, where another warrant was executed.

The Bucks County District Attorney’s office said it believes there are four people who were victimized by being recorded without their knowledge, but that it is possible “that additional victims and additional violations will be uncovered after an analysis of the numerous seized items.”

This case remains under investigation by Bucks County Detective Phil Kulan and Quakertown Police Detective Ryan Naugle, with assistance from Berks County Detectives, the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General and the Horsham Township Police Department. Anyone with information related to it is being asked to contact Bucks County Detectives at 215-348-6354 or Quakertown Police at 215-536-5002. The Bucks County Network of Victim Assistance (NOVA) is also assisting investigators and the individuals who may have been victimized. Anyone who needs their assistance can call BCNOVA at 800-675-6900.

Following his arrest, Moyer was arraigned on the charges filed by the District Attorney’s office and committed to the Bucks County Correctional Institution in lieu of 10 percent of $150,000 bail.

According to the docket filed in his case, a preliminary hearing before District Judge Lisa Gaier in Quakertown is scheduled for Thursday, March 20 at 12:30 p.m., and Moyer is being represented by Philadelphia attorney Carson Morris.

Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using information from the Bucks County District Attorney’s office and Bucks County court records.