A suspect has been charged in connection to a "camera looking device" found in the bathroom of a Chicago Public School, police announced Friday.
Elliott Nott, 41, of the 4800 block of North Spaulding Ave., was charged with seven counts of unauthorized videotaping and one count of child pornography, all felonies, according to a release from the Chicago Police Department.
A Cook County judge ordered Nott held in lieu of $75,000.
The camera, which authorities called a "motion activated video recording device," was found at Ogden International School located in the 0-100 block of West Walton Street in the city’s Gold Coast neighborhood on Sept. 7.
Melissa Howlett, assistant state’s attorney, said police found putty that was used to afix the camera to the bottom of a sink in the bathroom.
“Each image shows the victims buttocks or genitals during the recording and the child’s buttocks and pubic area are also seen on video,” Howlett said.
Nott had been a CPS teacher since 2009 and coached girl’s track and field.
The state alleges that Nott knew a child knew a child used the restroom but his attorneys deny that.
“We do not believe, again, if any of the allegations are true, that there was any intent to videotape children,” Mark Basile, Nott’s attorney said.
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Nott has at least two other arrests, one in 1993 for window peeping and another in 2004 for loitering and prowling. He was found guilty in the 2004 case and ordered to have no contact with the victim.
Days after the discovery of the camera, the principal told parents a school employee had been fired as a result of the incident. It was not immediately clear what Nott's role was at the school.
“This device is not designed to send information, so we are confident that no images were transmitted by the device,” Principal Michael Beyer said in an email to parents after the camera was found.
Parents expressed their concerns about the issue.
"You send your kids to school and you look for them to be in a safe place and for them to get an education," said parent Sheena Lee. "When you come back to hear something like that, it's always disturbing to think that adults are plotting on children."
Nott is due back in court Oct. 12.
