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Camera hidden in cheerleading studio restroom filmed dozens of girls, Tennessee cops say

Up to 60 people, most of them underage girls, were recorded on a GoPro camera found hidden in a restroom at an athletics complex in Tennessee, police said.

A general manager discovered the device Tuesday at the Premier Athletics facility in Franklin, just 20 miles south of Nashville, according to the Franklin Police Department. The studio is used for cheer, tumble and competition training.

Detectives searched the device and found recordings of dozens of girls, at least two of whom appeared to be partially undressed, the department said in a news release. Officials confirmed the suspect is an employee at the facility who “had been intermittently staging the camera to capture video” in the girls’ restroom since September, WKRN reported.

“The placement of a camera in such a private place is a violation of trust in its most extreme form,” authorities said in a statement. “This is terribly upsetting to parents and their children, and it is just as troubling to us.”

Facility management have helped detectives identify 47 of the 60 girls, whose parents have since been notified, police said.

Authorities are working to identify the remaining victims as the investigation continues.

Franklin police said the recordings were confined to a restroom inside the Premier Athletics suite, noting that there is “no current evidence to suggest that other restrooms or private areas in the multi-tenant facility were compromised.”

Multiple charges are expected to be filed in the case, after which the suspect will be publicly identified, police said.

John Woelk, whose daughter trains at the facility, told WTVF he was “dumbfounded” when he learned what had happened, “especially because I knew him ... talked to the guy several times.”

“No little kid should have to go through this period,” Woelk told the news station. “It’s heartbreaking for the little girls.”