A Michigan church leader has been arrested and fired after allegedly admitting to installing hidden cameras in church bathrooms to spy on other staff members, the church announced.
Will Johnson, 37, worship pastor director at 2|42 Community Church in Brighton, just north of Ann Arbor, was arrested Friday after staff discovered a hidden camera in a “private unisex bathroom behind the scenes (of the church),” said Eric Rauch, senior pastor of pastoral operations. He told The Detroit News.
Rauch said Johnson was confronted by other church leaders, admitted to placing the cameras there and was promptly fired.
Johnson later admitted to Livingston County sheriff's detectives that he also hid a camera in the church's bathroom, according to the report.
According to the report, Johnson told detectives that he had been placing cameras in the bathrooms intermittently over the past two years, targeting specific church employees who were known to use those bathrooms.
“We are shocked and deeply saddened by this situation as the protection, safety and privacy of all who enter our church is our top priority,” Rauch told the outlet.
The church said it is “fully cooperating with the Sheriff's Office investigation and is taking proactive steps to ensure the safety of all of our facilities, including working with third-party investigators.”
Johnson was charged Sunday with tampering with evidence, surveilling a nude person (a felony) and using a computer to commit a crime.
He is being held in the Livingston County Jail, with bail set at $250,000.
If convicted, he faces up to four years in prison for each count of tampering with evidence, up to two years for each count of surveillance of a nude person, and up to two years for each count of using a computer to commit a crime.
His next court hearing is scheduled for September 24th.
