A former high school teacher in Virginia admitted Monday to amassing a collection containing thousands of recordings secretly taken of underage students undressing, Washington Postreports.
Raphael Schklowsky, 38, pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of child pornography, five counts of unlawful filming of a minor, and two counts of unlawful filming of an adult. He faces up to 37 years in prison.
Schklowsky, who was a drama teacher and theater director at Herndon High School, was initially arrested in April 2019 after his daughters’ live-in au pair contacted police upon discovering a camera hidden in the air conditioning vent of her room in the family’s home. He was charged with four misdemeanor counts of unlawful filming, and released on $25,000 bond.
A further investigation revealed that Schklowsky had 8,000 inappropriate images and videos of minors on 32 electronic devices, many of whom were believed to be students at the school where he taught. He was arrested again in May 2019, and charged with 20 counts of child pornography and unlawful filming.
Police were able to identify 10 of the victims from the thousands of images, which appeared to be taken during rehearsals and events from May 2017 to June 2018. A small camera was also allegedly placed in a dressing room used by the students as a changing area during plays.
“Crimes committed against young people by a person in a position of trust are particularly disturbing and will always be a priority for my office,” Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano said in a statement. “As a prosecutor and a parent, my heart goes out to the victims in this case and their families.”
Schklowsky stuck a plea deal with the hopes of receiving a lesser sentence, but he will need to wait until Sept. 3 to find out how long he will be behind bars.
