Voyeurism Rap For Teacher

JANUARY 4--A Washington teacher was charged yesterday with placing a hidden camera in the bathroom of his home and secretly filming his female guests--including an 11-year-old-girl--because he thought the illicit taping "might be sexually exciting."

Carlo Calcagni, 47, is facing voyeurism charges after a house sitter discovered "video clips of females going to the bathroom" on his computer, according to a probable cause affidavit sworn by a King County Sheriff's Office investigator.

The house sitter and her friends, Detective Casey Johnson reported, found a video camera disguised as a clock radio in a first-floor bathroom of Calcagni's suburban Seattle home. They also discovered another disguised camera in an upstairs bathroom used by Calcagni's daughter.

In a police interview, Calcagni, who taught fifth grade at Moorlands Elementary School before his resignation last week, admitted placing the camera in the downstairs bathroom. The first video he captured was of the 11-year-old girl, which Calcagni termed a "mistake" since he was angling to snare unsuspecting women 18 and above.

A sheriff's review of Calcagni's computer located 19 videos of women using the toilet, clips he had stored in a file labeled "dad's school folder." While Moorlands administrators have tried to erase all mentions of Calcagni from the school's web site, a program from last year's school fundraiser is still available online. It shows that one auction item featured a "dinner & movie" with Calcagni. The winning bidder, the program noted, would dine at Red Robin or Ruby's with Calcagni, and "then a movie (probably rated G)."

Calcagni was charged with three counts of voyeurism, according to a Superior Court criminal information. (4 pages)