Timmy Freese ’14, Mimi McCann ’13, Erin McCarthy ’13, Michael Smerconish ’14, Newtown police are currently investigating a situation involving an unidentified male who claimed to be taking pictures of both the squash and swim teams on behalf of an Episcopal family in the Dixon Athletic Center on Thursday, January 31st.
Jim Farrell, Associate Director of Athletics, recalled “There was a varsity swim practice and a man was up top taking photos on the catwalk. Mrs. [Colleen] Bernabei [lower school gym teacher and diving coach] asked him what he was doing. He said he’s taking pictures for an EA family whose children aren’t even in the pool.”
Farrell explained, “Bernabei went to look for another coach to help her talk to this guy and he had since walked away…She came and found me and then I called security.” Farrell and two swim coaches then went looking for the man, but their search proved unsuccessful.
The parking lot security guard told Farrell that he had, in fact, seen the man but, according to Farrell, “it’s not unusual for a parent or grandparent to walk in with a camera, so [the security guard] didn’t say anything to [the unidentified man] when he got out of his car.”
Farrell continued, “The security guard tried to find him and by the time he got back to where he thought the man’s car was, the man had already left.”
The family for which the man claimed to be taking photographs was then contacted. The family told school officials they did not know the man, nor had they hired anyone to take pictures on their behalf.
Scholium met with Newtown Police Chief Chris Lunn, who is working on the case. He told us that Episcopal called the Newtown police on Friday, February 1st to report the unusual situation which had occurred in the athletic center the night before.
Following the incident, Bill Doherty, Director of Communications, sent an email to Episcopal faculty alerting them of the situation and providing a security camera picture of the suspicious man. Soon after, parents were notified of the situation and received the same security camera picture via email.
On Monday February 4th, NBC10 posted a story about the incident on their website and aired a similar segment on the six o’clock news. Both Doherty and Lunn told us that neither the Newtown police nor Episcopal Academy itself alerted the media of this ongoing investigation.
Doherty commented, “In my mind, his picture got out there [when NC10 covered the story] and that’s a good thing…I think [the Scholium] getting the word out and NBC10 getting the word out is going to help us…and it’s going to deter him as well. He will not come back here.”
Because taking pictures on Episcopal’s campus is not illegal, Lunn does not anticipate to ultimately make an arrest in this case. However, if it was discovered that the male in question had a criminal record, Lunn would make sure the man was legally allowed to be at Episcopal, according to the terms of his prior sentencing. As of now, Lunn would like to talk to whoever was taking these photographs and find out why they were acting suspiciously.
Farrell noted, “The news was quick to say this could all be a misunderstanding but it’s probably not a misunderstanding, because he outright lied [about being hired by an Episcopal family].”
In discussion with Lunn, Scholium alerted him of the rumor that the unidentified man in the security camera footage was possibly a certain similiar-looking man from an online sex offender registry. After giving Lunn this man’s name, Lunn looked into this lead and determined that this registered sex offender is definitely not the man from our security camera footage.
Doherty assured that when this unidentified man’s name is known, the community will be notified. He stated, “I would expect an update once we know more from the police…the investigation is [currently] in its preliminary stages.”
When asked what he would say to nervous parents and students, Doherty replied, “I would emphasize that our people acted quickly, appropriately. They went up to the guy and questioned why he was there and when the answer wasn’t the answer they wanted, he was out of the building.”
Doherty acknowledged that sporting events on campus are open to the public. While that policy likely will not change, Doherty assured, “we will have more of a security presence in the building moving forward.”
L. Hamilton Clark, Head of School stated, “We are now considering shutting the gates to one entrance at 8:30 [a.m.], as well as locking certain doors until 2:30…We are also considering giving students pass cards to enter into buildings like other schools in the area already do. We want to make these changes without affecting the atmosphere of the school.”
If you have any information, please contact the Newtown Township police.

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