NJ Educator Jailed for Taping Boys Showering
A prominent New Jersey school educator and aspiring politician was accused of secretly videotaping students in the shower at a local Catholic school where he volunteers.
54-year-old Patrick J. Lott was arrested last week when investigators found multiple videos of nude boys showering at Immaculata High School in northern New Jersey, according to the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office.
On Dec. 13 and Dec. 16, members of the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Unit exercised search warrants and searched Lott’s home, where they found the digital recordings stored on computer files that were seized.
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Detectives later discovered a hidden camera in the communal shower area at the school that was secretly installed for video recordings. Nine of the victims in the video were under the age of 16, according to an MSNBC report.
The recordings had been going on for three years, dating back to January 2008. A total of 22 victims were notified by prosecutors on Tuesday night.
Lott faces numerous charges, ranging from second-, third- and fourth-degree child endangerment to invasion of privacy. He was arrested Dec. 23 and is currently in the Somerset County Jail with bail set at $500,000. His bail condition forbids him to have contact with anyone under the age of sixteen, any victim or any Immaculata High School staff or faculty member.
Lott, who is an assistant principal at Bernardsville Middle School, has worked as a volunteer at Immaculata High School. He also worked as an athletic coach at the high school. He was described in reports as a friendly administrator who greeted students with high-fives, according to WPIX.
The school declined to comment. Lott also failed in a recent attempt to run for Somerville Borough Council on the Republican ticket.
The investigation is ongoing and it is unclear if Lott has hired an attorney.
