THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, August 5, 1995 TAG: 9508050267
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JON FRANK, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines
Twenty-five girls have been identified so far on tapes police say a Wilson High School track coach took of the unsuspecting female students as they dressed in locker rooms at the school.
They represent just a few of the girls allegedly taped through peepholes by John W. Crute, Commonwealth's Attorney Martin Bullock said Friday.
Many more victims are expected to be identified before police complete their review of more than 300 tapes seized Monday from the home of the 45-year-old Crute.
``We don't know how large the number will grow,'' said Bullock at a news conference outside the Circuit Court building. ``It may take four to six weeks to complete the review.''
Only about 30 tapes, about 10 percent of the total seized, have been screened by police. Some, Bullock said, are three hours long. The process is slowed, Bullock said, because access to the tapes is limited to a small number of investigators working the case. No one else is being permitted to view them, he said.
The tapes reviewed so far go back to 1991, Bullock said. A police investigator said Thursday that the tapes go back to at least 1987.
``We want the community to know we are working hard on this case,'' Bullock said. ``But it is a very hard case, because there is so much footage to review.''
Some of the girls were videotaped for years, Bullock said, starting when they were in eighth grade and ending in the final year of high school. In some cases, police said, Crute spliced tapes to create a year-by-year account of girls getting dressed.
Crute allegedly drilled a hole in a storage room adjacent to a locker room used by female athletes at Wilson. Police say he turned the camera on and off when he knew girls would be entering and leaving the locker room.
Bullock said Friday that Crute, who is unmarried, apparently also videotaped girls at another school locker room in a similar fashion.
Additional felony charges are being prepared against Crute, who already faces up to 11 years in prison for one felony and one misdemeanor charge brought against him after his arrest Tuesday. Bullock said the new charges will go to the grand jury in September or October.
Some girls and their families already have been notified about their appearance on the videotapes, Bullock said. He encouraged former or current female students at Wilson to contact his office. Bullock asked them to supply pictures that can be used by police to help identify them on the videotapes.
In addition to the videotapes, three boxes of photographic negatives were seized by police Monday from the home Crute shared with his parents in the 400 block of Sussex Drive. Most of the negatives are of fully clothed girls, Bullock said.
``It appears that most of the criminal behavior is on the tapes,'' he said.
Police also confiscated electronic equipment that Crute allegedly used to view the pictures and videotapes. According to a search warrant affidavit, police took videotape machines, a camcorder, a slide projector, a 35 mm camera and a TV.
Crute's alleged scheme was uncovered last weekend when a police liaison officer working at Wilson found the videocamera in a storage room next to the locker room. A tape was found inside showing a 15-year-old female undressing.
Bullock said investigators have found no evidence that anyone else was involved. They have not found evidence that Crute attempted to sell the tapes or show them to anyone.
Bullock confirmed that complaints had been made by parents and students against Crute before the discovery of the videocamera. None of those complaints resulted in criminal charges, Bullock said. ILLUSTRATION: Color file photo
John W. Crute, the Wilson High School track coach accused of
videotaping girls in locker rooms, is shown at a track meet in
1993.
KEYWORDS: SEX CRIME VIDEO TEACHER COACH by CNB