Charlotte Country Day confirms 10 to 12 peeping photos appear to be of students
Police found 10 to 12 images of “potential” Charlotte Country Day School students and employees on the school-issued laptop of former longtime administrator Scott Waybright, Interim Head of School David Mancos said this week.
Police charged Waybright with multiple secret peeping felony charges Friday night, then more details appeared in a court record Monday.
Waybright was fired as assistant head of school for academics on Dec. 2.
Mancos revealed new details about the case in a follow-up message to the school community on Monday in which he also listed ways the school is working to prevent future such incidents.
In Monday’s message, Mancos said Waybright is accused of using a mobile phone in “public or semi-public places” to photograph students and employees without their consent and for no school purpose.
“There is no evidence of the use of a hidden camera in any bathroom, locker room, or other private place,” Mancos added. “The individuals pictured are all dressed in school attire.”
“Strong policies and protocols in place.”
Because of a CMPD investigation, school officials are limited in the details they can provide, Mancos said.
The school “has strong policies and protocols in place to prevent misconduct and promptly investigates any allegations of actions that are alleged to violate those policies or existing laws,” Mancos wrote.
Charlotte Country Day will form a task force and partner with national experts “to guide us through this process,” Mancos said.
The school’s 2025-26 operating budget already included hiring two more security workers, both of them retired CMPD officers who will start in January, Mancos said.
An expert in risk management and oversight will be hired to help with overall school planning, he said.
The school searched for hidden cameras on both campuses, Mancos said. None were found, he said.
An “instant arrest notification” has been added to immediately alert the school to an employee’s arrest, Mancos said. The school already does an extensive background check on new hires and a follow-up check every three years, he wrote.
“We never take for granted the privilege of educating your children,” Mancos wrote in Monday’s message. “I not only feel that it is an honor but a duty to ensure the safety of all of our community members.”
Waybright hasn’t replied to a voicemail message from the Observer on Saturday.
Private investigator found illicit photos, official says
Hundreds of inappropriate photos of women — some possibly Charlotte Country Day students at school — were found on Waybright’s work laptop and work phone, The Charlotte Observer reported Monday, citing a new police affidavit filed in court.
The affidavit said the school took Waybright’s work laptop and phone on Nov. 18 after a teacher sent an email about a student alleging Waybright took photos of her at the school in 2023.
The teacher went to school administrators about the incident in 2023, the affidavit said, and the head of the school at the time searched through Waybright’s phone. Nothing was found.
In November, the school hired a private investigator to examine Waybright’s devices, which led to “hundreds” of photos found of women’s legs and buttocks, according to the affidavit.
Waybright was given back his laptop and phone afterward, the affidavit said.
The school provided a copy of everything found to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department on Nov. 29. CMPD sexual assault unit detectives found that the photos were taken at the school and public places like grocery stores and swimming pools.
“At least five of the photos” were taken “at an angle to see up the women’s shorts or skirts and the women’s undergarments and or butt cheeks are visible in the photos,” the affidavit said.
In Monday’s message, Mancos said an allegation was made in 2017 “involving possible images, and that a forensic investigation turned up no impropriety.”
He said he was unaware of any allegations in 2023. He learned of the latest allegations before Thanksgiving and immediately launched “a full investigation,” he said in his message.
This story was originally published December 10, 2024 at 4:49 PM.