WHITE PLAINS – A civil suit has been brought against Marist University and Kyle Petrozzi, 23, the former Marist student who recently pleaded guilty to15 felony counts of unlawful surveillance in Dutchess County Court for installing cameras in bathrooms at Marist University’s Dyson Hall.
Petrozzi, a White Plains resident who was expected to graduate from Marist in May 2025 with a degree in media studies and production, was expelled by Marist during the investigation by the Dutchess County District Attorney’s Office and the Town of Poughkeepsie Police Department. After his indictment on 16 counts, Petrozzi’s attorney, Richard Portale, said his client suffers from a sex addiction disorder, calling it a compulsive and often hidden condition, telling “This does not excuse Kyle’s conduct, but it does help explain it.”
The civil suit was filed by “Jane Doe” in March and has been classified as a “class action” to encompass Petrozzi’s multiple victims. It covers all persons “who were viewed, observed, recorded, photographed, and/or videotaped, or at risk of being viewed, observed, recorded, photographed, and/or videotaped by a recording device, from October 1, 2024, until May 10, 2025, in any Dyson Hall restroom where a recording device was placed.”
The lawsuit alleges that Petrozzi placed cameras in the Dyson Hall bathrooms to record individuals using them. The allegations in the civil suit were initially denied by Petrozzi through his attorney, but he recently pleaded guilty in criminal court.
The civil lawsuit named Marist University because “Marist had a duty to inspect and maintain the restrooms in a safe and suitable condition and state of repair or operation, free from peeping holes, recording devices, or any other instrument that could be used to surreptitiously observe or record a person. Marist has denied any wrongdoing.
The case is being heard by Westchester County Supreme Court Judge William Giacomo.
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