Naperville man suspected of recording neighbors in the nude

Residents of a Naperville neighborhood were reeling Tuesday after the arrest of a man suspected of secretly videotaping several neighbors in the nude.

Renzo Barduagni, 50, of the 700 block of Violet Circle, also is accused of possessing about 100 images of child pornography on his computer.

Police arrested Barduagni on Monday after executing a search warrant at his house, the culmination of a four-month online child pornography investigation. In addition to locating child pornography, authorities said they found a videotape containing footage of a naked neighbor child.

Naperville Sgt. John Westlove said additional videos showed suspected neighbors being surreptitiously recorded while undressing in their bedrooms.

“We’re reviewing all the images and video tapes to determine who else may be a victim,” Westlove said.

DuPage County Judge Elizabeth Sexton set bail at $300,000 and ordered Barduagni to have no contact with minors should he be released. Barduagni identified himself as a software developer and said he was likely to post the necessary $30,000 bond, though he remained in custody as of Tuesday afternoon

The arrest did not sit well with Al Karman, who lives with his three children on Barduagni’s block, just south of Wildflower Lake.

Karman, who runs an online community group, said the neighborhood is “absolutely in a tizzy.”

“There’s a lot of children in the neighborhood, and a lot of people are just creeped out,” he said. “Everybody is ready to vomit.”

Karman said Barduagni moved into the area about six years ago and has a next-door neighbor whose swimming pool is frequented by local children. Barduagni’s home also is across the street from a school bus stop, and Karman said he has contacted Indian Prairie Unit District 204 to look into the situation.

“We just can’t believe this is happening here,” he said. “People don’t know what to do.”

Barduagni was sitting at his computer when officers arrived to search his home Monday morning, Assistant State’s Attorney Joe Baumann said in bond court. He said police found computer images of children mostly younger than 13 and Barduagni told investigators he generally deleted “anything under 6 years old.”

Barduagni has no prior criminal history and is scheduled to appear Nov. 13 in front of Judge George Bakalis.