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Ravenswood Middle School track coach arrested

Thomas Haines

RAVENSWOOD — A Ravenswood Middle School track teacher is currently being housed in the South Central Regional Jail after being arrested Thursday and charged with two counts of prohibited child erotica and two counts of criminal invasion of privacy, a press release from the Ravenswood Police Department’s social media said Friday.

Thomas Haines, the assistant middle school track coach, was arrested after the head coach for the high school girls track team informed the department that someone was being filmed, the release said.

It said the head girl’s track coach advised police there was a video Haines had in his possession that they needed to see.

Haines showed police a video he stated he filmed with his phone from inside a changing area designated for the girl’s track team, it said in the release. The phone was allegedly discovered by a juvenile female while she was in the changing room, and then reported to the girl’s head coach.

In an interview with police, Haines admitted to placing his phone in the area where the juvenile female was changing in order to observe her taking off her clothes, it said in the release.

Haines also stated that he placed the same phone in the same changing room a few days earlier and recorded a juvenile changing clothes.

The release said following the interview a search warrant was obtained for Haines’ residence and he was subsequently arrested and charged.

“At this time, we are only aware of one juvenile that was filmed,” Ravenswood Police Chief Lance B. Morrison said in the release. “If we find evidence to believe others were filmed, we will immediately make the appropriate notifications. This incident is still under investigation and further charges are possible.”

Haines is being held in lieu of bond.

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