A Tennessee church deacon faces criminal charges after his wife made an unsavory discovery on his cell phone.
Christopher Thomas Collins, 42, has been arrested on nine charges of aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reported. Collins has been removed from his church position.
According to the newspaper, Collins was about to undergo an emergency procedure on a tooth. He powered his phone down before handing it to his wife. Suspicious, his wife turned it on and searched the photo gallery and hidden files.
The newspaper reported that she found several explicit videos and a still photo of a young girl whom she recognized as a family acquaintance.
WTVC reported that the wife realized that the videos appeared to have been filmed in the bathroom of their home through the use of hidden cameras. The station reported that the cameras were positioned across from the shower toilet. Collins told his wife that he had installed the cameras to look for rates, the station reported.
Police were notified Tuesday when Collins wife went to the church for marriage counseling and said what she had found, the newspaper reported.
The church's pastor, Ronnie Phillips Jr., told Collins' wife that the church had an obligation to report the incident. "We wish we knew what people had going on in their private lives, but we don't," Phillips told the newspaper. "But when we hear of something that's allegedly evil, all we can do is what we are supposed to do."
