NC college worker accused of filming in on-campus bathrooms faces new charges
Editor’s note: This story was updated at 7 p.m. Saturday, April 26, 2025, after a Davidson College spokesman contacted The Charlotte Observer to say that no charges involve student victims.
A former Davidson College worker accused of secretly filming in on-campus bathrooms faces new charges involving peeping on a woman who worked at the school, court records show.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police charged 49-year-old Hickory resident Jeremy Michael Whitworth with secretly using or installing a photographic imaging device to arouse or gratify sexual desire, which is a felony, and possessing a photographic image obtained by peeping, according to an April 3 police affidavit.
Whitworth is accused of filming the former worker four times in the restroom of a campus building, from May 2020 to February 2021, the affidavit states.
The woman didn’t know she’d been filmed until police met with her on March 22 at the Davidson College Police Department, according to the affidavit. She agreed to pursue charges, police said.
“Deeply distressed,” college president says
In November, Mooresville police charged Whitworth with felony secret peeping and said dozens of additional victims may have been unknowingly filmed at homes in the Charlotte region.
Whitworth was an electrician on the Davidson College facilities staff who did side jobs at homes, police said. He worked at the college since 2005 or 2006, campus Police Chief Julian Coaxum said at the time.
At a November news conference, Mooresville police released a picture of Whitworth. Victims who don’t know his name would recognize him by his photo, Police Chief Ron Campurciani said.
Mooresville officers arrested Whitworth on Nov. 2. Someone familiar with the recordings contacted police, Campurciani said.
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.
“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.
Whitworth also is accused of filming 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 in November, Davidson College president Doug Hicks said he was “deeply sorry and angry” about the case, which he called “very distressing.”
College staff searched 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.
Iredell County indictment
Whitworth had a first court appearance in Iredell County Superior Court March 5 involving secret peeping charges in four cases, according to the county Clerk of Courts office on Friday. He appeared in court the next day on charges in a fifth case.
Whitworth was indicted on all charges in the five cases on April 7.
At first court appearances, defendants typically say if they’ll hire a lawyer, represent themselves or need the court to appoint one.
The District Attorney’s Office hasn’t scheduled Whitworth’s next court date in the cases, according to the Clerk of Courts office.
This story was originally published April 26, 2025 at 11:47 AM.