Sleep clinic employee pleads guilty to planting hidden cameras in bathrooms, gets no jail time

A Nassau County judge offered a no-jail plea agreement on Tuesday to a former Manhasset sleep clinic employee accused of planting hidden cameras in the bathrooms to spy on hundreds of patients — including minors — in the Northwell facility.

Sanjai Syamaprasad, 48, of Brooklyn, admitted five counts of unlawful surveillance in Nassau County Court for secreting cameras inside smoke detectors and recording patients on the toilet at the Northwell Health Sleep Disorders Center. He also pleaded guilty to two counts of tampering with evidence after he burned memory cards that prosecutors believe held recordings from the clinic and tossed the fake smoke detectors.

State Supreme Court Justice Meryl Berkowitz, who is expected to retire this year after 26 years on the bench, said that she factored in remorse expressed by the former sleep technician and his enrollment in a treatment program.

"I made you a promise that I will give you five years probation," the judge said. "If you violate that you are looking at 1 ⅓ to 3 years."

Syamaprasad could have received a maximum of 21 years.

"My reaction to five years probation is disappointment and disgust," Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said after the plea hearing. "This case deserved jail time. What he did, the number of people he exposed — over 300 plus videos we have. And you treat that with probation? I think it’s wrong and that’s why I was recommending upstate jail time."

During the plea hearing, Berkowitz cut off Assistant District Attorney Kelsey Lorer’s prison time recommendation, noting that prosecutors no longer had a say in the matter because he pleaded guilty to all seven charges.

Syamaprasad, who wore a mask, sunglasses and a baseball hat as he left the courtroom, declined to comment. His lawyer Julie Rendelman left the courtroom without addressing the press.

The clinic, which has nine patient rooms with en suite bathrooms, treats adults and children for a variety of sleep disorders. As part of their treatment, patients are aware that they must be recorded while they sleep, but they are informed of the areas that are under observations from signs on the walls, according to Joel Rubenstein, a civil lawyer representing the workers and patients of the clinic in civil litigation.

Nassau County prosecutors say that Syamaprasad recorded hundreds of hours of videos, between July 2023 and April 2024, in the bathrooms, where signs inform patients they are not recorded, and download them to his personal computer.

Another clinician saw Syamaprasad watching a man on the toilet of one of the patient rooms on April 24, 2023, and reported him immediately to her supervisors, according to a criminal complaint. Northwell told authorities about Syamaprasad’s illegal cameras, but before Nassau County police could question him, he destroyed evidence.

He was not arrested until just before 10 p.m. the next night and by then, according to prosecutors, he had ditched some of his recording equipment in a dumpster near his house and destroyed a memory stick holding some of the evidence.

Detectives raided his apartment on April 25 and found three laptops, a memory card reader and cellphones.

Syamprasad also hid cameras in the smoke detectors of the STAR physical rehabilitation clinic in the same building.

"It’s not a one off," Donnelly said. "It’s not one night. It was night after night after night. Victim after victim after victim."

Syamprasad returns to court on Sept. 15 for sentencing, during which the judge said that she will hold a hearing to determine what level sex offender he should be registered as.

"We’re going to come up with our level sex offender we think he should be, but, of course, it’s ultimately up to the court and she’s going to do what she wants to do," Donnelly said, adding that level two registration was appropriate.

Under New York state law, a level two sex offender is a designation for someone who has a moderate risk of reoffending. Under this designation, Syamprasad would have to register his address and his offense publicly for at least 30 years.

Northwell Health issued a statement saying it "greatly appreciates" the efforts of the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office.

"We were deeply disturbed when we first learned information regarding the conduct of the former employee, who has not worked here for over one year," the statement read. "We promptly reported his conduct to the DA’s Office, immediately revoked his access to the premises, and fully cooperated in the DA’s Office’s investigation and prosecution of him. Safeguarding the privacy of our patients and employees will always remain a high priority for us."