A 21-year-old swimming instructor in Waukesha, Wisconsin was fired after police found a camera that had been hidden inside an employee changing area.
ErieNewsNow reports that the instructor worked at Swimtastic Swim School in Waukesha. Last Wednesday (February 5), a female swim instructor was changing and noticed a tissue box in the changing room had a hole punched in it. She checked the box and found a camera inside it.
The girl, who is 17, alerted the 21-year-old male instructor, who went into the changing room and then told the girl he’d destroyed the camera. However, ErieNewsNow reports that the man “fled the business before police arrived.”
Police arrested the man, then executed a search warrant on his home, looking for the camera. Eventually, the 21-year-old confessed to using his personal phone as a camera (per ErieNewsNow) and getting rid of the phone at the swim school.
The police later located the phone. Authorities say the camera was only used in the employee-only changing area. The local police said the 21-year-old had been teaching for about a year.
The swim school owner released a statement to media and said that the employee was immediately suspended and later terminated. The Swimtastic Swim School’s statement is below:
“I received an update from the Waukesha Police Department that we want to share with our swim students and families. We are saddened to learn that evidence has been discovered implicating one of our employees tied to hiding a camera in the employee-only dressing room. It is our understanding that charges are being pressed, victims have been notified, and we are continuing to give our full cooperation in the police investigation. Our deepest sympathies are with the individuals affected by that employee’s disturbing actions. Detectives confirm that their investigation is revealing that no clients of Swimtastic were the subject of this incident. It is our promise to our team of instructors and clients and their families that we will take every measure necessary to ensure we protect the safety of our swim school environment.
Third-party background checks are an important part of our hiring practices that we always adhere to and we have a strict zero-tolerance policy for misconduct. While the police indicated that we could not have foreseen this incident, we take responsibility to find every way imaginable to guard against something of this nature from ever occurring again. Our number one priority right now is supporting our team of instructors to navigate this troubling situation and support them however needed.”
Paging John Trites… They ever find him?
Name from the past right there. He’s still at large. Creep.