BELLINGHAM, MASS. (WHDH) - A former middle school teacher and baseball coach in Bellingham was sentenced Thursday to five years in prison for secretly recording more than 20 victims in a school bathroom.
Scott McDonald, a longtime teacher and coach at Bellingham Memorial Middle School, pleaded guilty in Milford District Court to more than 60 charges involving the videotaping of children and young men.
McDonald was arrested in November 2018 and originally charged in an “elaborate” plan that involved secretly recording a 14-year-old boy using a school bathroom.
In the months following his arrest, police said they uncovered videos of more than 20 other victims, ranging in age from 12 to adulthood.
The videos, which date back to at least 2012, were taken in school and at McDonald’s home, prosecutors said.
The 14-year-old student tipped off school officials after spotting a camera planted in a box on a locker, prompting an investigation, police said.
When investigators began looking into the claim, they found the box and McDonald’s iPhone, both of which matched the student’s description, according to court documents.
Authorities said McDonald had asked the student to retrieve binders from his car, and in exchange, he would let the boy use the faculty bathroom, which he described as “cleaner” than other restrooms.
On multiple occasions, the student opened the box and found recordings of himself on McDonald’s iPhone, the documents said.
Authorities seized the phone and found several videos stored in a Google photos app, according to investigators. One image that was recovered showed the boy in the faculty bathroom with his genitals exposed.
In a statement, Bellingham school officials said they were “appalled” by McDonald’s behavior.
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