Insurance man spied on employee
FRESNO — A local insurance man’s self-proclaimed addiction to pornography resulted in a 10-day jail sentence Wednesday, and will require him to register as a sex offender upon release.
Wellman D. Shew
Wellman Shew, 51, owner of Shew and Company Insurance Services Inc. in northeast Fresno, received his jail sentence from Fresno Superior Court after admitting he secretly videotaped a former female employee while she used the company restroom.
Shew pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charge of peeping. The female victim was being videotaped in December 2009 while working in the office located on the 7400 block of North Cedar Avenue.
Fresno police first received a tip that Shew had disturbing images on his office computer. Police then searched his office and discovered video showing a female employee using the restroom. Police also said that officers discovered a fake plant on top of the toilet, rigged with a secret compartment and two boxes with holes on the sides.
Shew told the judge and his wife, who was in the courtroom, that a fascination for pornography was to blame for his actions.
“Hopefully, she will find it in her heart to forgive me,” Shew said.
The female victim’s name was kept confidential by the court.
Along with his sentence, Shew must also complete 20 days in an adult offender program and will serve four years of probation.
