COLUMBUS, Ohio — A teacher at Columbus Alternative High School was arrested Tuesday after he admitted to taking videos of female students for the past seven years.
According to Delaware County Common Pleas Court documents, 47-year-old Justin Foley is charged with illegal use of minor or impaired person in nudity-oriented material or performance.
Court records state the Delaware Police Department received a tip on Aug. 16 from the Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
The tip involved a Google account that was owned/operated by Foley that contained 46 suspected child pornography image files. Law enforcement said the images were of several teenage girls between the ages of 12-16.
Documents state Google produced the full account data and authorities were able to identify over 5,000 images of child abuse material and 166 video files of a voyeuristic nature.
The videos were apparently recorded in department stores around Columbus, downtown public areas, near Ohio Wesleyan University, downtown Delaware and outside of Conger Elementary School.
On Tuesday, law enforcement interviewed Foley who admitted to downloading and transferring the images to an external hard drive and then uploading it to the Google account.
According to the court document, Foley also admitted to still actively producing voyeur videos in public places and while teaching at the high school.
Foley said that he had been recording “up-skirt” type videos of students at his school for the past seven years and as recent as last week.
The state has recommended a $250,000 bond for Foley in addition to no internet access, no contact with minors and GPS monitoring.
Columbus City Schools said Foley is a science/AP teacher and has been with the district since 2013. The following statement was sent to 10TV by the district:
"Columbus City Schools has a strict code of conduct for all employees to follow. We take this matter very seriously, as we are committed to the safety and well-being of our students. I can confirm that the District is aware of the arrest of Mr. Foley as part of a police investigation, and we are cooperating with law enforcement. I can also tell you that the teacher has been suspended and will not be returning to our District. We have begun the process of recommending his termination."