CLEVELAND, Tenn. — UPDATE: Cleveland police said 30 Cleveland Middle School girls were filmed inside a locker room with a spy camera placed by a teacher.
The Bradley County Sheriff's Office says Christopher Schroll is facing another charge for placing a spy camera in the locker room. Parents are concerned for their daughters.
"During the investigation, detectives were able to determine that the Cleveland Middle School covert video recording was conducted over a 2-day period, thus constituting a 2nd charge/count of Attempted Aggravated Unlawful Photography of a minor," said spokesperson Sergeant Evie West.
The sheriff's office reported that Christopher Schroll was arrested again on March 17, 2022, and has been returned to the Bradley County Justice Center without bond.
Cleveland Middle School, Principal Nat Akiona and Director of Schools Dr. Dyer shared a video where they discuss the incident to update the community about the situation. They said they immediately "entered district protocols" and notified parents of students who were affected.
They said all parents of identified students had been notified by Thursday. They said the next steps will be to meet with all students who met with the teacher and offer support. They also said counselors were made available for students.
School officials say the investigation is currently in the hands of local authorities, and the school system will share more information as it becomes available.
"We understand that this is an extremely difficult time and that parents and students will each have their own unique feelings and worries," officials said. "We share your concerns, and are making all of our resources available to our students. As always, the wellbeing of our students is our primary goal, and we will continue towards that goal, each and every day."
Local 3 News, a sister station with WBIR, obtained the police report filed on this incident.
The report shows authorities were contacted on March 15 about a possible camera found in the girl's locker room at Cleveland Middle School. Once on scene, deputies collected the camera and extracted the SD card found inside the spy camera.
Deputies say videos were recovered that showed the inside of the locker room, and of a student finding the camera.
Images were also recovered with a timestamp of March 13, 2022. The images showed several minors inside the girls' locker room, including one female taking off her shirt revealing a sports bra. Another minor can be seen changing pants.
Deputies say it is obvious, based on the context of the images, that the females in the locker room did not appear to know that they were being filmed.
The report says video surveillance of the morning of Monday, March 14, showed Christopher Schroll in the area of the girls' locker room.
Deputies interviewed the 8th-grade teacher and soccer coach. Mr. Schroll admitted in the interview that he purchased the camera from Amazon and put it in the locker room Monday morning.
Mr. Schroll said that he did it because of complaints of bullying and harassment from young girls. He also said that he would get the camera at the end of the day and take it home to his personal desktop computer to review the footage.
Authorities asked the school principal if Mr. Schroll had brought any of these bullying harassment complaints to attention. They said he had not.
Local 3 News is being told he's out of jail now on a $10,000 bond.
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ORIGINAL: Cleveland police say a local teacher who is accused of putting a hidden camera in a girls’ locker room was arrested on Tuesday.
Cleveland Police Department Spokesperson Sgt. Evie West said a Cleveland Middle School student found the camera and told school administrators. They then alerted School Resource Officer John Milen.
Sgt. West says Officer Milen started an investigation, reaching out to Cleveland Police Department supervisors and the Criminal Investigations Division.
Cleveland Police administration and investigators responded to the scene to work with Cleveland Middle School staff and began conducting interviews.
Sgt. West says within 24 hours the suspect, Christopher Schroll, a Cleveland Middle School teacher, was identified and arrested.
Schroll was charged with a felony Attempted Aggravated Unlawful Photography of a minor.
Cleveland City Schools released the following statement:
At Cleveland City Schools, our highest priority is the education, well-being, and protection of our students. Recently, there have been allegations of misconduct against one of our employees. We responded immediately by removing that employee from the classroom and the employee is suspended from employment with the school district. We are currently working with local authorities on this matter. Our students are our priority and we will continue to cooperate fully with the Cleveland Police Department.
The investigation is ongoing.