A National Guard member was caught surreptitiously video-recording a stranger in the next bathroom stall at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport, and then admitted to police that he's been at it for months, according to charges filed Thursday.

Wang Yang, 18, of St. Paul, was charged Tuesday in Hennepin County District Court with interference with privacy, a gross misdemeanor, in connection with one incident on May 9. Yang was charged by summons and has an Aug. 21 court appearance scheduled.

Yang has no attorney listed for him in court records, and contact information for him was not immediately available.

According to the complaint:

A passenger in Terminal 2 met told a police officer that he was in a bathroom stall and saw a cellphone being held under the divider from one stall over. The man said he kicked the cellphone, startling its owner, and then texted his father to "get in here."

The passenger pointed out Yang at a nearby gate. The officer spoke with Yang, who denied the accusation.

Yang gave the officer his cellphone, and its trash file was empty. The officer told Yang that a deeper examination would recover any recently deleted files, prompting Yang to admit recording the man in the next stall.

Yang was arrested, turned over his cellphone and admitted that he's been "engaging in this behavior" for the past few months and it was his way of seeing men naked.

An analysis of the phone revealed several images and videos of people in restroom stalls, including men in fatigues going to the bathroom. There also were still images and videos of bestiality, and men posing with dolls depicting children from infant to 5 years old.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482