Scott Kline, 44, of Middleton, is accused of hiding a spy camera in the bathroom of his Peabody chiropractic office and recording unsuspecting customers with it.

Kline appeared in Peabody District Court Tuesday on a charge of photographing an unsuspecting nude person. While Peabody is in Essex county, the DA’s office there reports that it referred the case to prosecution by the Middlesex DA’s office to avoid an undisclosed “potential conflict of interest,” according to a Middlesex DA statement.

Kline’s cleverly named “Back on Track” office was allegedly the site of a nefarious scheme to record people using the bathroom through the use of a spy camera embedded in “a black plastic coat hook hanging on the wall next to the toilet tank,” prosecutors allege, that to the reporting victim told police “looked out of place.”

The male victim took some photos with his cellphone and showed them to police on Friday. The Peabody Police Department then secured a search warrant. While the fake coat hanger was no longer in the bathroom, “police were able to find evidence suggesting it had previously been in place,” as well as “digital evidence” of the crime on hard drives and SD cards.

The case remains under investigation and the Peabody Police Department asks that any members of the public who may be or know somebody who may be a victim to contact them at 978-538-6300 or 978-531-1212.