A camera has been found hidden in the changing rooms at a leisure centre in Fife.
It was handed in to staff after a customer found it inside a cubicle at Beacon Leisure Centre in Burntisland.
Police were immediately called after the discovery on January 23 and a detailed search was carried out at all other council-run sports centres in the Kingdom.
A spokesman for Fife Sports and Leisure Trust reassured customers, saying it was an isolated incident.
He said: “We are working with Fife police on this matter and can assure customers to our facilities that the matter is being treated with the utmost concern. Following the report of this isolated incident, a full and thorough search of the Trust’s changing facilities across its 13 centres in Fife was conducted.
“All our facilities are checked thoroughly on a daily basis, and changing areas are inspected regularly through the day by leisure centre staff.
“We have put extra measures in place to ensure staff are extra vigilant and are on hand to reassure customers. The Trust will not tolerate any criminal activity on its premises and will continue to work with Fife police to safeguard the public.”
An investigation is currently being carried out by Fife Constabulary, who are still examining the item.
A spokesman for the force said: “An item was handed in at the reception of Beacon Leisure Centre in Burntisland on January 23. It is currently subject to forensic examination. We are working closely with Fife Leisure and Sports Trust to deal with this isolated incident.”
Patrick Lott
The northern New Jersey assistant principal who has been accused of planting a hidden camera to videotape boys showering at a NJ Catholic high school where he volunteered for nearly three years has resigned from his job, more than a month after he was first arrested. Patrick Lott had been placed on an unpaid leave of absence as an assistant principal at the Bernardsville Middle School after being arrested last December, but it took until this week for Lott to officially step down amidst 22 counts of invasion of privacy (one for each victim), and more than two dozen counts of child endangerment. So despite “several” videos of nude teenagers showering being found at Lott’s house, he was still given a gentleman’s period to gracefully step aside.
In mid-December, police obtained a warrant to search Lott’s home, and prosecutors say they found “several” videos of nude teenagers showering. Authorities said there were 22 victims, including nine boys who are under the age of 16. Detectives subsequently found the area in the communal shower at Immaculata High School where the camera had been surreptitiously installed—they believe it’s been there since January 2008. The Somerville County DA says Lott had been a longtime volunteer and coach at the school, and also was active in local and county politics, serving for a time as chairman of the Somerville Republican Committee.
HARTFORD CITY — A Hartford City man faces a felony charge over allegations he placed a hidden camera in a bathroom and recorded video footage of a woman taking a shower.
Michael A. Lambert, 51, who lives in the 200 block of South High Street, was charged Monday with voyeurism, a Class D felony with a standard 18-month sentence. He was being held in the Blackford County jail under a $1,000 bond.
According to a report filed by Hartford City police officer Michael Wilson, Lambert was arrested Sunday night after other occupants of his home found two videos, each showing a woman taking a shower in their bathroom, on a home computer.
Lambert was also seen in the video “retrieving the recording device,” the report said.
The Hartford City man admitted to J.D. Beckley, a police detective, that “he did hide the video device in a small basket on top of the toilet inside the bathroom,” and “did so in order to video record (the alleged victim) in the shower,” court documents said.
The documents allege the recordings were made last Friday. The formal charges say the recording “was in an area where the occupant could reasonably expect to disrobe.”
Lambert appeared in Blackford Superior Court on Monday, when a public defender was appointed to represent him and his trial was set for May 16.
Court records reflect no other recent charges against Lambert.
Contact Douglas Walker at 213-5851. Find him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/DouglasWalkerSP.
By Domingo Ramirez Jr.
ramirez [at] star-telegram [dot] com
A former volunteer associate pastor at a Granbury church and chaplain at a nursing home pleaded guilty Monday to secretly taking photos of people undressing at several locations and to possessing child pornography.
Hidden cameras were found at a nursing home, his home and his former church, all in Granbury, authorities said.
Photos were taken during weddings, baptismal events and on a Colorado ski trip, authorities said.
Matthew Porter, 34, of Granbury, entered his plea on eight counts of improper photography or visual recording and seven counts of possession of child pornography.
Jury selection in his trial had been scheduled to start Monday.
“We had at least 10 victims ready to testify,” said Hood County District Attorney Rob Christian.
Judge Ralph Walton will decide Porter’s punishment after hearing testimony today in a Granbury courtroom.
Porter faces up to 10 years in prison on each count of the child pornography charges and two years each on the improper photography charges.
He had been free on bail but was taken into custody Monday morning after he entered his plea.
Porter was arrested a year ago this month after a camera was found hidden in a bathroom of Harbor Lakes Plaza Nursing and Rehabilitation. He was identified as a suspect after he was seen in one photo trying to adjust the camera, police said. Porter worked as a chaplain at the nursing home.
Authorities later found a hidden camera at the home he shared with his parents.
Porter was a volunteer associate pastor at The Church at Granbury, and he volunteered at Gateway Community Church in Granbury.
He is no longer associated with Granbury nursing homes or churches, his attorney has said.
Porter had been living in the Granbury area since 2008. Granbury police began their investigation in October 2010 after a nursing home employee found the hidden camera in the bathroom.
This is the second time in four years that Porter has been accused of improper photography.
In Florida, Porter was working as a youth minister when he was accused of videotaping students as they changed clothes at his home. He pleaded no contest to nine counts of misdemeanor voyeurism. He faced up to nine years in prison but was sentenced to 120 days in the Manatee County Jail to be followed by one year of probation after a number of people spoke on his behalf.
Florida criminal court records indicated that Porter got letters of support from family members and friends in Texas.
One came from the Rev. C.C. Risenhoover of The Church at Granbury. In a letter dated Aug. 8, 2008, Risenhoover, then senior pastor at Gateway Community Church in Granbury, stated Porter “will not only have our counsel and support, but also that of loving parents.”
Porter’s father and grandfather were longtime residents of Hood County, according to the letters.
Porter graduated from Howard Payne University in 2000, and he was hired as a youth leader at First Baptist Church in Lipan. He left the Lipan church in 2004 and moved to Bradenton, Fla.
This report includes material from the Star-Telegram archives.
Domingo Ramirez Jr.
817-390-7763
Twitter: @stcrime
There has recently been a great increase in the levels of telephone network hacking and mobile phone espionage. Mobile phone spy software is now widely available and very affordable, and the majority of mobile phones can quickly be modified or replaced, to become portable espionage tools. This security threat has increased as more mobile phones offer increased functionality, such as internet access. Generally speaking, the more complicated a phone is, the more easily it can be tapped. Spy software can be quickly downloaded onto a mobile phone within a few minutes, and such software can enable the phone’s conversations to be listened to, text messages to be viewed, and the precise location of the phone to be pinpointed to within two to three metres using triangulation from telephone masts or base stations. Phone microphones can subsequently be switched on remotely, allowing conversations to be overheard even when the phone is not being used or in some cases, is switched off!
Precautions should be taken to reduce the risk of mobile phone espionage. Security passwords should be installed on all mobile phones and personnel should keep their phone within sight at all times to prevent the opportunity for spy software to be installed. Removing a phone’s battery when not in use can be an effective security measure, however this is not always failsafe.
All organisations should invest in security measures to ensure that the mobile phones of high-level employees are kept secure, to prevent unnoticed espionage occurring. If there are any concerns that a mobile phone has been bugged, a replacement should be purchased immediately. The same process should apply if you are not sure whether the phone may have been previously sabotaged.
