Post by bigfan on May 5, 2005 11:47:08 GMT -5
Downey coach charged with taping girls
Man accused of secretly videotaping Warren High gymnastics team at YMCA.
DOWNEY — The coach of the girls' gymnastics team at Warren High School in Downey was arrested for allegedly secretly videotaping several team members in a makeshift dressing room at a YMCA after one of the girls discovered the camera and viewed the video, police said Wednesday.
Anthony Darrell Vankirk, 30, of Bellflower was arrested Tuesday at his home, said Downey police Sgt. Jeff Calhoun.
Vankirk was booked for "disorderly conduct" and released on his own recognizance, Calhoun said. Disorderly conduct is the generic term used in the section of the penal code that specifically addresses videotaping people without their knowledge in a public place, said Downey police Lt. Jim Heckel.
Wendy Doty, superintendent of the Downey Unified School District said that Vankirk, who is not a district employee, but a "walk-on coach," has been released from coaching duties and "has been directed not to have any further contact with students at the district."
Vankirk, who also is an employee of the Downey YMCA, is scheduled to be arraigned July 6 in Downey Superior Court, Heckel said.
About 8 p.m. Tuesday, a female Warren High School student reported to police "that she had been a victim of sexual exploitation," Calhoun said.
"The victim discovered a hidden video camera while changing clothes in a makeshift dressing room," Calhoun said.
She and several other Warren High School girls, ranging from ages 14-16, were part of the school gymnastics team, training at the Downey YMCA, 11531 Downey Ave., Calhoun said.
"She viewed the video, where she saw herself and her teammates changing clothes," Calhoun said.
"The victim was alarmed by this discovery, and she took the video camera and reported the incident to her mother and YMCA representatives," Calhoun said.
Police reviewed the video "and determined that several other female juvenile victims had apparently been secretly videotaped while in the dressing room," Calhoun said.
Investigators alleged that the video camera belonged to Vankirk, and they went to his home and arrested him, Calhoun said.
Vankirk, however, told NBC4 in an exclusive interview that "it was my camera, but they didn't put the reason why I had it. It just happened to be some wrong things got in view of it. That was not meant to be."
Vankirk said he had put out the camera to catch a thief who had stolen some jewelry.
The taping occurred in a large room, adjacent to the gymnasium, that doubled as a changing room for the girls and an equipment storage space for the coach, said Doug Grogan, senior vice president of branch operations of the YMCA Metropolitan Los Angeles.
"We're not quite sure what to say about this," said Grogan, who oversees 25 Los Angeles YMCA facilities. "We're extremely upset that this occurred, and our hope is that parents and children will be alert to unusual events just as these kids were, and will talk about it … We like to think that kids everywhere are safe when they're with adults that they trust and unhappily, that was not the case."
Officers served a search warrant at the residence and seized "computers and other relevant evidence," Calhoun said. The names of the victims were not released.
Vankirk derided the notion that his computer would have anything incriminating on it.
"I guarantee they will find nothing," he said.
Man accused of secretly videotaping Warren High gymnastics team at YMCA.
DOWNEY — The coach of the girls' gymnastics team at Warren High School in Downey was arrested for allegedly secretly videotaping several team members in a makeshift dressing room at a YMCA after one of the girls discovered the camera and viewed the video, police said Wednesday.
Anthony Darrell Vankirk, 30, of Bellflower was arrested Tuesday at his home, said Downey police Sgt. Jeff Calhoun.
Vankirk was booked for "disorderly conduct" and released on his own recognizance, Calhoun said. Disorderly conduct is the generic term used in the section of the penal code that specifically addresses videotaping people without their knowledge in a public place, said Downey police Lt. Jim Heckel.
Wendy Doty, superintendent of the Downey Unified School District said that Vankirk, who is not a district employee, but a "walk-on coach," has been released from coaching duties and "has been directed not to have any further contact with students at the district."
Vankirk, who also is an employee of the Downey YMCA, is scheduled to be arraigned July 6 in Downey Superior Court, Heckel said.
About 8 p.m. Tuesday, a female Warren High School student reported to police "that she had been a victim of sexual exploitation," Calhoun said.
"The victim discovered a hidden video camera while changing clothes in a makeshift dressing room," Calhoun said.
She and several other Warren High School girls, ranging from ages 14-16, were part of the school gymnastics team, training at the Downey YMCA, 11531 Downey Ave., Calhoun said.
"She viewed the video, where she saw herself and her teammates changing clothes," Calhoun said.
"The victim was alarmed by this discovery, and she took the video camera and reported the incident to her mother and YMCA representatives," Calhoun said.
Police reviewed the video "and determined that several other female juvenile victims had apparently been secretly videotaped while in the dressing room," Calhoun said.
Investigators alleged that the video camera belonged to Vankirk, and they went to his home and arrested him, Calhoun said.
Vankirk, however, told NBC4 in an exclusive interview that "it was my camera, but they didn't put the reason why I had it. It just happened to be some wrong things got in view of it. That was not meant to be."
Vankirk said he had put out the camera to catch a thief who had stolen some jewelry.
The taping occurred in a large room, adjacent to the gymnasium, that doubled as a changing room for the girls and an equipment storage space for the coach, said Doug Grogan, senior vice president of branch operations of the YMCA Metropolitan Los Angeles.
"We're not quite sure what to say about this," said Grogan, who oversees 25 Los Angeles YMCA facilities. "We're extremely upset that this occurred, and our hope is that parents and children will be alert to unusual events just as these kids were, and will talk about it … We like to think that kids everywhere are safe when they're with adults that they trust and unhappily, that was not the case."
Officers served a search warrant at the residence and seized "computers and other relevant evidence," Calhoun said. The names of the victims were not released.
Vankirk derided the notion that his computer would have anything incriminating on it.
"I guarantee they will find nothing," he said.