Janitor Hides Above Women’s Locker Room with Phone as Players Changed

A college soccer player’s discovery above a locker room ceiling has led to 11 criminal charges against an Ohio custodian accused of secretly photographing women as they changed.

Wilmington police say Jayson Barker, of Jeffersonville, concealed himself in the ceiling area of the women’s locker room at Wilmington College’s Scheve Athletic Center on Tuesday, September 22.

A member of the soccer team spotted him and alerted campus safety. By the time police arrived around 9:40 p.m., campus officers had detained Barker, according to the department’s statement. Real Change Wilmington

Court documents describe what allegedly caught the players’ attention.

According to an affidavit reviewed by FOX19, campus security told police that 11 women were changing when someone holding a phone emerged from the ceiling area. A flash followed, suggesting a photograph or video was being taken.

Barker denied taking pictures. His explanation, according to the affidavit, was that he had climbed above the drop ceiling to read the Bible on his phone.

He allegedly told investigators he sometimes went there to read before returning to work. Police confiscated the phone as evidence. fox19.com

The discovery has left a central question unanswered: what, if anything, was recorded?

Police have announced 11 counts of voyeurism, but their public statement does not establish how long the alleged conduct had been occurring or whether there were earlier incidents.

Investigators said they were continuing to review potential evidence to determine whether additional charges were warranted. Barker is presumed innocent unless proven guilty. Real Change Wilmington

The college has also taken action.

Barker worked on campus through an outside custodial contractor, Scioto. Wilmington College spokesperson Randall Sarvis told FOX19 the school severed ties with the company Wednesday and was providing counseling to affected students.

Barker was booked into the Clinton County Jail on a $22,000 cash or surety bond but subsequently posted bail, FOX19 reported, citing court records. His next court appearance is scheduled for October 5 at 2 p.m. in Clinton County Municipal Court. FOX19’s local coverage is available here. fox19.com

The case comes as Ohio lawmakers consider tougher penalties for secretly recording people in private spaces.

Under the state’s current voyeurism law, secretly recording an adult’s private areas in a place where that person reasonably expects privacy is a second-degree misdemeanor. Ohio law allows up to 90 days in jail and a $750 fine for a second-degree misdemeanor offense. Ohio Laws

Those figures should not be presented as a confirmed maximum sentence for Barker’s entire case. He faces 11 counts, and the outcome would depend on the charges ultimately proven and the sentencing rules that apply.

House Bill 345 would elevate certain adult-victim voyeurism offenses to fifth-degree felonies and increase penalties for repeat offenses and crimes involving minors. The Ohio House passed the measure June 3, but the legislature’s published status still lists it in Senate committee, without Senate passage. Ohio House of Representatives

For now, the immediate focus remains the evidence collected from the locker room incident and whether it supports further charges before Barker’s next court appearance.