THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, August 25, 1995 TAG: 9508250651
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ANGELITA PLEMMER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: Medium: 57 lines
Police found an additional 57 videotapes Wednesday at Wilson High School, where popular high school track coach John W. Crute allegedly filmed girls dressing in the locker room.
Crute was arrested earlier this month after police seized 300 tapes from his home on the 400 block of Sussex Drive. The investigation started when an officer found a video camera at the school with footage of a 15-year-old girl. Investigators allege the girl was videotaped through a hole in a storage room wall adjacent to the locker room.
Police found the tapes in an area of the gymnasium's storage and office space after authorities were tipped off during a meeting with the school's staff, prosecutors said.
The contents of the most recent tapes have not yet been reviewed by law enforcement officials.
``We've reviewed 97 tapes so far,'' Bullock said, noting that some of the tapes are as long as three hours.
The tapes, which go back to at least 1987, are being reviewed by a very small number of people - two police detectives and Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Helivi Holland, who is prosecuting the case.
``It's an invasion of someone's privacy . . . and an expectation of someone's privacy,'' Holland said.
Crute has been charged with one felony, production of sexually explicit pictures of a child under the age of 18, and one misdemeanor, the unlawful filming or photographing of a minor. Crute could be facing more felony charges with the discovery of the additional tapes.
Prosecutors said they hope to finish viewing all of the tapes by mid-September and present their charges to a grand jury in October.
Holland said authorities have identified 36 girls and have contacted 25 of the victims.
``We're dealing with a person they really cared about,'' Holland said. ``They're dealing with the emotion of betrayal along with anger.'' Many of the girls have also expressed embarrassment and humiliation.
The school system will provide counseling to current students through the Community Services Board. They have also assembled a team at Wilson High School to work with any girls who might have been videotaped. Students who have already graduated from the school are not eligible for counseling through the school's program.
None of the victims is eligible for assistance through the state's crime victims' compensation fund because state law awards help only to sexual-abuse victims who have had physical contact with assailants. ILLUSTRATION: John W.
Crute
KEYWORDS: VIDEOTAPES FELONY by CNB