Man faces charge of attempted voyeurism

A maintenance supervisor employed for six years at Selkirk School District in northeast Washington has been charged with attempted voyeurism.

Charles Miller, 54, was charged last week. He confessed in October that he hid a video camera in a district office bathroom used mostly by women, according to Pend Oreille County Sheriff’s Office investigation notes.

A worker found the camera on July 29 while trying to shove a box of papers onto a bathroom shelf. The box wouldn’t fit and when she forced it she heard an odd noise. When she looked on the shelf she found a camera that had been held in place by a towel, which was stapled into the wood.

The sheriff’s office said the videotape did not contain any images. At the very end, however, two voices were recorded of the suspect and a woman.

Miller confessed he had installed the camera when told that one of his fingerprints had been found on the camera, according to investigation reports.

The maximum penalty for the misdemeanor is one year in jail and a $5,000 fine, according to Mike Carbone, deputy prosecutor for Pend Oreille County. Had Miller successfully taped any images with the hidden camera, it would have been a felony, Carbone said. Miller’s sentencing is still pending.

Searches of Miller’s home in Ione and his office at Selkirk High School didn’t reveal any evidence of prior voyeurism, according to sheriff’s reports. Selkirk School District hired investigators to search the school for more cameras and found none, according to district superintendent Kim Carlson.

The Selkirk School District serves about 365 students. It operates three buildings, a kindergarten through third grade primary school in Ione, Lillian Bailey school for fourth through sixth grade in Metaline Falls, and Selkirk Junior High/Senior High School for grades seven through 12.