A man has been arrested in Tennessee after his wife found nude videos of their teenage babysitter on his phone, which were shot in the couple’s bathroom.
Christopher Thomas Collins stands charged with nine counts of especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, according to Hamilton County court records. Us Weekly can confirm that his bond has been set at $50,000 and he is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday, January 20.
Collins, 42, was arrested Wednesday, January 14, after his wife found the alleged secret recordings and reported them to authorities, according to WTVC, WDEF and Local 3 News.
The wife came across the videos when Collins asked her to hold his phone while he underwent a medical procedure.
Collins has been accused of setting up hidden cameras in his home’s bathroom and recording the teen while she was naked, according to arrest records viewed by Local 3 News.
Meanwhile, the police affidavit stated that Collins’ wife looked through his phone during his medical procedure because she suspected that he had been cheating, per WTVC.
After the wife found the alleged recordings in a hidden folder on his phone, she eventually went to the church where he served as a deacon for guidance regarding how she should deal with the situation. She reportedly told investigators that she was advised to go to the police.
The woman told authorities she first deleted the files, according to WSET. However, she later took screenshots from the “recently deleted” folder so that she could document her findings.
It was also reported that Collins previously told his wife that he installed the cameras in the bathroom to look for rats.
The wife turned her husband’s phone to police so that they could search the device, the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to Us Weekly. As police looked through the phone, they reportedly found nine videos of the teen.
Following Collins’ arrest, his church, Abba’s House, issued a statement about the incident.
“Through the course of a marriage counseling session, Chris Collins’ wife revealed that she had found videos on her husband’s phone of a minor,” the church said of the wife’s allegations, according to WDEF. “We immediately reported it to the police and they are handling the situation. We are caring for his wife and kids during this tragic time. Chris Collins had been a member of the church for four years and served as a deacon. He has been removed from that role.”
It is not currently clear if Collins has entered a plea or retained legal representation following his arrest.
If Collins is found guilty of sexual exploitation of a minor, he could be sentenced to serve between 2 and 12 years in prison and could be forced to pay a fine of $5,000, according to The Law Office of Joshua T. Crain’s website. While the charge is often considered a class D felony, it could be changed to a class C felony if the person has more than 50 images of the minor in their possession. Those found guilty of a class C felony will be sentenced to serve between 3 and 15 years in prison, as well as ordered to pay a fine of $10,000.
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