A restaurant owner in North Carolina was arrested after a hidden camera was found in the women's restroom

• Police say they found a "concealed camera" in the women's restroom of a North Carolina restaurant.
• The restaurant's owner was charged with 20 counts of third-degree exploitation of a minor.

A man in North Carolina was arrested for third-degree exploitation of a minor after officers seized four devices from his home and said they found a "concealed camera" in the women's restroom of the restaurant he owned, officers say.

After getting tips through the State Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, officers from the Davie County Sheriff's Office and a special agent with the Department of Homeland Security searched a residential property in Mocksville, about 50 miles north of Charlotte, on Wednesday, Sheriff JD Hartman said.

While there, officers seized four digital devices related to the tips, Hartman said.

This led the officers to La Vita É Bella, an Italian restaurant in the town, Hartman said.

"During a search of the business location, a concealed camera was discovered in the women's restroom," he wrote.

Hartman said that the sheriff's office was reviewing the data on the seized devices and would try to identify women who may have been recorded by the camera in the restaurant's restroom.

"Due to the nature of the investigation, and the fact that juveniles are involved, there will not be any additional information released," Hartman said.

Hartman said that 47-year-old Luigi Carciati had been arrested and charged with 20 counts of third-degree exploitation of a minor based on evidence found during both searches. North Carolina legislation defines third-degree exploitation of a minor as the possession of material "that contains a visual representation of a minor engaging in sexual activity."

Carciati lives at the residential address that was searched, and according to a listing on the website of the Davie County Chamber of Commerce, owns La Vita É Bella restaurant.