Magician's Favorite Trick Is Videotaping Undressed People

Charges include promoting sexual performance by a child

Updated 7:46 PM EST, Thu, Dec 4, 2008

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A man who promoted himself as "Long Island's Favorite Magician" pleaded not guilty Thursday to new charges that he secretly videotaped women and girls inside a dressing room at a photo studio he kept in his home.

It was the second time in five months that prosecutors charged the man with unlawful surveillance and other offenses. Investigators believe a total of 19 women and girls were secretly videotaped; most were in their late teens or early 20s, but one was as young as 10.

Robert Infantino appeared in Suffolk County Court in Riverhead and was released on $300,000 bail he previously posted following an August indictment charging him with 78 counts of possessing child pornography and videotaping a woman and her daughters, ages 10 and 14. The woman in that case said she found a camera in a dressing room in Infantino's Central Islip home.

A new 33-count indictment accuses the 50-year-old of one count of promoting a sexual performance by a child and 32 counts of unlawful surveillance. The sexual performance charge stems from alleged lewd taping of a minor's genitals, prosecutors said.

Infantino's attorney did not immediately return a call for comment on the latest charges, but previously said his client was innocent. "There was never an intent to violate anybody's rights, or the law," said Marc Gann.

Robert Clifford, a spokesman for Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota, said the latest charges stem from investigators' review of Infantino's computer, which was seized after his August arrest. Prosecutors believe Infantino contacted victims through MySpace.com, offering them free photo shoots and modeling portfolios.

While the women were changing into different outfits for the shoot, he secretly videotaped them dressing and undressing, Clifford said.

Infantino had a Web site promoting himself as "Long Island's Favorite Magician," but it was no longer running on Thursday. He has performed at local restaurants and appeared at middle schools across Long Island, claiming his shows were intended to help students improve reading and math skills through magic.