The student spotted the towel on Friday, May 5, through the grated front of a locker, Moore said. The locker was secured with an administrative lock. — Photo by ELEVATE: https://www.pexels.com/photo/gray-locker-cabinet-and-boots-1267362/
A missing towel helped uncover a high school coach’s hidden camera that was recording inside a girls’ locker room, police in Wisconsin said.
The towel belonged to a Janesville Craig High School student, and it had been missing for a few weeks, Janesville Police Chief David Moore said during a May 8 news conference.
She spotted the towel on Friday, May 5, through the grated front of a locker, Moore said. The locker was secured with an administrative lock.
At about 9.30am, staff responded and found the girl’s towel along with a hidden GoPro camera, according to the police department.
The school resource officer reviewed some of the images at about 1.30pm and identified a school coach as the suspect, Moore said. Images on the device showed the coach placing the camera in a locker.
The suspect was identified as Brian Edward Kitzman, 38, of Janesville. He is an assistant track coach and was previously a swim coach with the Janesville School District.
As Kitzman was boarding a bus for a school track meet, police removed him from the bus and took him into custody, Moore said.
Kitzman was charged with child pornography, capturing representations depicting nudity and invasion of privacy, authorities said. He is being held at the Rock County Jail.
He confessed to placing the GoPro into the locker room and said the crime has been going on for two years, police said. There are an estimated 18 possible victims.
Investigators believe Kitzman kept the images for himself and did not share the recordings with anyone else.
Moore described the crime as “opportunistic,” adding that Kitzman would find places to hide cameras and then record images in various locker rooms. He did not seek out specific victims, police said.
Authorities with the school district and police department have searched the school for other recording devices. No other evidence was found.
Superintendent Mark Holzman said the district is cooperating with the investigation and is offering resources to students.
All employees have passed a background check, he said, and Kitzman has been employed as a coach with the district since 2004.
Kitzman is on administrative leave while the investigation continues, Holzman said.
Families of student victims will be notified as they are identified in the GoPro footage.
Janesville is about 80 miles southwest of Milwaukee. – The Charlotte Observer/Tribune News Service
