MILTON (WKOW) — Police are investigating after a group of high school choir girls were recorded in their dressing room at a Show Choir event, according to a search warrant filed by a detective with the Milton Police Department.
On January 19th, the Parkview High School Pizazz choir team, with about 40 girls and six boys, participated in a choir event at Milton High School, according to court documents. Each school in the event was assigned a classroom to serve as a dressing room for both boys and girls, according to detectives.
Officers learned that the teen boys on the team used the dressing room first, followed by the girls.
While the girls were changing their clothes, some getting fully or partially nude, a 16-year-old female student on the choir team reached over to grab a phone to check the time, according to the court affidavit.
When she picked the phone up, she told detectives she saw the phone was recording and had been doing so for 27 minutes, according to the search warrant.
The affidavit noted the female student knew the student who owned the phone and recognized it when she picked it up.
Seconds after the female student found the phone, the owner walked into the room and took it from her, according to the search warrant.
The court affidavit does not say whether the male suspect was part of the Parkview High School Choir Team. However, Milton Police Chief Scott Marquardt said both the victims and perpetrator were from the Parkview School District.
Milton Police are investigating the incident and have the cell phone that allegedly captured the video. According to the affidavit, the video may have been deleted but can be retrieved by the Wisconsin Department of Criminal Investigations.
Steve Lutzke, the district administrator of the Parkview School District, declined to comment about the incident.
However, he did share an email that was sent out by Parkview High School Principal Mary Stelter:
“Mr. Greco (Parkview High School assistant principal) and I wanted to reach out to the Pizazz families regarding an alleged incident regarding a student’s cell phone found in video record mode in the room where the girls were changing for the performance on Saturday, January 19, at the Milton Rock the Rock competition. As soon as it was brought to the attention of the administration, we began our investigation. This investigation is on-going. If you have questions or concerns, please direct them to myself or Mr. Greco.”
The search warrant states detectives are searching for evidence for two crimes. They include possession of child pornography and capturing representations depicting nudity.
The School District of Milton did provide a statement regarding the incident:
“The School District of Milton’s only involvement in this police investigation is that the alleged incident took place in our high school. Out of respect for all parties involved and the sensitivity of an on-going police investigation, we kindly request that any additional questions be directed to City of Milton Police Chief Scott Marquardt”.
Milton Police Chief Marquardt declined to comment further on the case, citing the on-going investigation.
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