A bond hearing for former McDonald County R-1 School District janitor Rodger Copeland, originally scheduled for today, was postponed after the judge assigned to the case, John LePage recused himself.
Judge Kevin Selby will take over, according to McDonald County Circuit Court online records.
Copeland faces felony charges of sexual exploitation of a minor, possession of child pornography, and invasion of privacy- victim less than 18 after a hidden camera was found in the McDonald County High School girls locker room.
Electronic devices seized from Copeland are undergoing a forensic examination, McDonald County Sheriff Rob Evenson said in a post on the Sheriff's Office Facebook page today. The post is printed below:
Since news broke last week of the high school janitor who placed a camera in the high school locker room, I’ve had some questions about how the rest of this investigation will proceed.First, let me say that MCSO Detectives and Deputies, along with McDonald County School Resource Officers and School Administration have worked hand in hand throughout this entire investigation. The discovery of the camera initiated this investigation, which led to the arrest of Rodger Copeland and the execution of several search warrants for electronic devices, as well as a search warrant for Copeland’s apartment in Neosho.
These devices will be sent to an electronic forensics lab where the contents will be extracted and evaluated by professionals who concentrate on nothing but this type of investigation. This examination of the electronics may take weeks to months to complete depending on the volume of information stored on these devices. The majority of the local part of this investigation is complete and we have to settle in to wait for the computer forensics people to do their part, which just takes some time.
It is too early in this investigation to even speculate about the amount of material that this suspect has collected, but rest assured that this investigation will be conducted professionally and the best case possible will be presented to the Prosecutor and the Court.
This is Sad - that any of these Young Woman have to worry about being a Victim of this Sick Pedophile at this School - I hope that MCSO Detectives and Deputies, along with McDonald County School Resource Officers and School Administration are Qualified enough to handle this type of Investigation?
ReplyDeleteNot only does this Janitor, Rodger Copeland, face years in jail and fines, but I would hope the Victims sue McDonald County R-1 School District for Invasion of Privacy and Sexual Exploitation of Minors.
Just as every Company knows - whether or not you want to be you are responsible for your Employes's - whether they damage something or harm someone you are responsible for their actions while they are on the job.
This illicit material that was being recorded - may have been sold, was it stored at school, in the cloud, or stored at his home. Again, the Victims need to know - that they have been Victimized and use their Legal Rights to Protect themselves.
Not only do we have to Protect our Children from Guns coming into Schools, but do we need to start sweeping / checking - locker rooms and restrooms for Recording Devices?