'Secrets of Playboy' Reveals Hugh Hefner Recorded Sex Acts Without Permission

Hugh Hefner had a treasure trove of secret sex tapes that he recorded at the Playboy Mansion, and according to a new documentary, he wouldn't ask his partners for permission.

Yup, in a clip obtained by TMZ ... his former girlfriend, Sondra Theodore, reveals Hef would tape just about everybody, including her. She says she was shocked the first time she saw herself on two screens in the bedroom.

Sondra claims when they invited other women into the bedroom, some would be weirded out by the camera. Sondra says Hef would pretend to stop recording, so the women would feel more comfortable ... but he never actually pressed the stop button.

In a new A&E series titled "Secrets of Playboy," Hef's former butler adds Hef recorded celebs and athletes having sex with other women in his bedroom ... and with these sexual tapes came power.

As we reported, the doc claims Hefner would host "pig night" where he would invite prostitutes to come over to his mansion to have sex with his pals, once a week ... and now, these new claims allege there may have been a collection of these sex acts caught on cam.

We should say ... in California, if Hef videotaped people with whom he had sex without asking for permission to record them, it's a crime.