This article has been updated since it was originally published March 3.
It was easy enough for the criminal to get inside his neighbor’s house. He knew the garage code, after all. He’d even watched their pets when the family was out of town.
So Michael Derek Roberts would wait until the house was empty and film himself naked in the home, sometimes sniffing a woman’s panties. Investigators don’t know how many times he did so.
One day last spring when the family was out of town he installed a camera inside a bedroom of the East Cobb home.
That’s what prosecutors told Cobb Superior Court Judge Lark Ingram on Wednesday before Roberts, 58, pleaded guilty to the charges. She sentenced him to three years in prison and 12 years probation.
Credit: Cobb County Sheriff's Office
Credit: Cobb County Sheriff's Office
The judge also ordered that Roberts be banished from Cobb County for the rest of his sentence after he is released.
State business registration documents show that Roberts was part of the original foundation of Activ Technologies, a Roswell-based technology supply chain company.
He is not listed on the company’s website and has been in Cobb jail without bond about five months.
Prosecutors said Roberts got caught trying to cover his tracks.
Shortly after his neighbor found the camera in her bedroom, she received a text from Roberts explaining that he was testing out a “nanny cam” in her house. He claimed he couldn’t try it out at his home because his Wi-Fi wasn’t working.
Neither the woman nor police believed him.
Roberts was arrested but bonded out within 24 hours.
The neighbor filed a restraining order, but he violated it by trying to talk to her. Police re-arrested him on an aggravated stalking charge and he’s been in jail since Oct. 9.
Prosecutors said they don’t know if Roberts installed the camera in the home other times. The family has lived next door to Roberts for 12 years.
CORRECTION: This article was updated to correct an earlier version with the headline “Tech CEO sentenced for filming himself naked in Cobb neighbor's home.”
The story now correctly categorizes Michael Derek Roberts’ connection to Activ Technologies when he was arrested. He helped found the company, which dissolved all association with him Sept. 28, 2016, according to a company spokesperson.
