NC college worker accused of filming students in bathrooms. President is ‘sorry and angry’
Davidson College president Doug Hicks said he is “deeply sorry and angry” that a worker at the school secretly filmed students in bathrooms, according to police allegations.
Mooresville Police charged 49-year-old Mooresville resident Jeremy Michael Whitworth with felony secret peeping and said dozens of additional victims may have been unknowingly filmed at homes in the Charlotte region.
Whitworth is an electrician on the Davidson College facilities staff who did side jobs at homes, police said. He’s worked at the college since 2005 or 2006, campus Police Chief Julian Coaxum said.
At a news conference Thursday, police released a picture of Whitworth. Victims who don’t know his name would recognize him by his photo, Mooresville Police Chief Ron Campurciani said.
Police arrested Whitworth on Nov. 2. He is free on $10,000 bond, Campurciani said. Whitworth didn’t return a phone message from The Charlotte Observer.
Police said someone familiar with the recordings contacted police.
As a result of the arrest, officers executed search warrants at Whitworth’s house and found hard drives, computers and cell phones that contained images and videos of women in restrooms, including at his house and Davidson College, the chief said.
“There are also a number of locations that we cannot identify,” Campurciani said. “His wife has been cooperative with this investigation. She has indicated to us that she is familiar with some of the areas (the recordings) were in, but there are many areas that she is not familiar with, so we’re asking the public’s help today.”
Whitworth was on a hunting trip in Buffalo, New York, when police executed the warrants.
“We literally have dozens and dozens of videos that go back the past 15 years,” the chief said. “There literally could be dozens and dozens of victims out there that we don’t know about.”
He urged the public to call police at 704-658-9021.
“We’re working through this,” the chief said. “We’ve been downloading this stuff since the weekend. It’s a little bit of a challenge for us based on how old these hard drives are.”
Whitworth also filmed women’s feet and legs as he walked in a Mooresville Walmart, Target and Chick-fil-A, Campurciani said. That wasn’t necessarily illegal, Campurciani said, describing it still as “very troubling behavior.”
In a message to the campus community on Monday, Hicks called the case “very distressing.”
Hicks didn’t name the employee in his message. Police named the suspect in public records and Thursday’s news conference announcement.
Hicks said the employee is accused of “using a camera to secretly view one or more locations in Mooresville. Police investigators have begun reviewing images, and believe additional locations could include the Davidson College campus.”
College officials learned that “all of the images appear to have been recorded with a cell phone or similar portable camera, in public areas and in bathrooms,” Hicks wrote. “No one at the College has yet been able to review the images.”
Hicks said the employee was placed on leave, barred from campus and had his Catcard and key access shut down pending the investigation.
Electronics experts helping investigation
Over the weekend, college staff began searching possible locations for a hidden camera, Hicks wrote. “None were found,” he said.
The college later called in licensed electronics experts to help in the search, Hicks said.
Campus police and the school’s general counsel and outside law firm were working with Mooresville Police to access the photos “and determine the impact on our campus,” Hicks wrote. Counselors are available, he said.
“If any acts have taken place on our campus, it is a violation of our privacy, safety and trust,” Hicks wrote.
“We will respond in every way possible to restore that trust,” Hicks said. “We will move with expediency to ensure every step is taken to uphold safety and your well-being on our campus.”
Hicks urged anyone with information about the case to contact campus Police Chief Julian Coaxum at 704-894-2915; jucoaxum@davidson.edu.
This is a developing story that will be updated.
This story was originally published November 7, 2024 at 12:42 PM.