Former Westport Lifeguard Arrested Again; Charged with Stalking at Compo just Years after Hundreds of Voyeurism Counts

The Westport Police Department announced today that Michael Collins, a former head lifeguard at Westport’s Burying Hill Beach, was arrested Thursday for stalking after an incident in August - when he was found to be taking pictures of women at Compo Beach. A disconcerting announcement, as Collins was arrested on hundreds of counts of voyeurism at Burying Hill just a few years ago.

In 2016, Collins was arrested on over 400 counts of voyeurism after he placed hidden recording cameras inside of clocks at the Burying Hill Beach lifeguard shack throughout the summer of 2015. The cameras captured female coworkers undressing and moving about the shack. He was also reported as taking photos of women on the beach using a long-range camera. He then took the photos, printed them, and posted them to his bedroom wall.

After the Westport Police Department’s 2015 investigation of his home and electronic devices, he was charged with 431 counts each of voyeurism, 431 counts of eavesdropping, and one third-degree count of possession of child pornography.

In 2017 at the Stamford Superior Court, he was able to escape a jail sentence - instead being given a 10-year suspended jail sentence and five years of probation by Judge Richard Comerford in state Superior Court in Stamford, according to the Stamford Advocate. He plead guilty to five counts of voyeurism, with the child pornography charge unable to be substantiated in court, according to a State’s attorney. He was also mandated to not contact any of his former Westport lifeguard coworkers for five years - while one coworker took out a 30-year restraining order against the former supervisor. (Stamford Advocate)

Collins was released yesterday on $10,000 bond and is scheduled for his arraignment next Thursday, September 30th, at Stamford Superior Court.

Westport Police Department, September 24th, 2021

On August 25, 2021, at approximately 7:00 p.m., two females came to the Westport Police Department to report a suspicious incident that occurred at Compo Beach earlier in the day.  They said that about 1:45 p.m. they observed a male in a silver Jeep watching and taking pictures of them as they swam and sunbathed.  The complainants said that the male’s behavior was making them uncomfortable, so they left the area and walked towards a nearby restaurant.  As they were walking, the person driving the Jeep allegedly drove past the females at least eight more times and was purportedly staring at the two as he did so.  One of the complainants took a picture of the Jeep’s license plate and turned it over to the investigating officer.  Using that information, Michael Collins was developed as a suspect.  The officer reportedly obtained evidence leading him to believe that Mr. Collins was the person operating the vehicle that repeatedly drove past the females.

Based upon the investigation, a warrant for Mr. Collin’s arrest was completed and signed by a Superior Court Judge. 

On the afternoon of September 23, 2021, Mr. Collins turned himself in at the Westport Police Department.  Per the warrant, he was charged with two counts of Stalking in the Third Degree.  Mr. Collins was released after posting a $10,000.00 bond and is scheduled to be arraigned at Stamford Superior Court on September 30, 2021.