Florida school janitor accused of hiding camera in girl's locker room
Sixth-graders bust janitor who allegedly hid cell phone in locker room
STUART, Florida (CNN) -- A school janitor is in jail -- accused of hiding a camera in a girls locker room. Police in Stuart, Florida arrested Michael Girard Monday morning, October 8th after he was busted by sixth-grade students.
Girard's neighbors say they had no idea he had been taken into custody.
"He's been a quiet guy. He gets on his motorcycle go to work, he comes back, he leaves and that was it," Girard's neighbor Johnny Mixson said.
Girard's landlord says she's never had any problems with him.
"You cannot expect anything from Michael. He's a very nice, quiet person and decent person. I never had any problems with him," Rosa Salguero said.
Detective say Girard's cell phone was discovered hidden inside the girl's locker room at the Pines Lower School.
"The girls told me that they came in and they were playing a joke. They were flickering the lights and they saw a white light coming from a corner. They thought at first it might have been a security camera," Detective Heather Rothe with the Stuart Police Department said.
Detectives say two sixth-grade girls climbed up and retrieved the camera, pushed rewind and when they heard their voices, they handed it over to the first adult they ran into -- Girard -- the school's janitor.
Police say when Girard was confronted by another school official, he said the girls never gave him a cell phone. However, after questioning, Girard changed his story and was escored out of the building.
"We want to again also praise the sixth-grade girls for doing what they did and being very proactive in making sure that they followed through with what occurred. We would like to get back to doing what we do best which is educating our children," Interim Head of School Phyllis Parker said.
Girard was booked in the county jail on $30,000 bond. He faces 11 counts of felony voyeurism and one count of destruction of evidence.
He's on administrative leave pending termination.
The phone was found last month, but police say they had to interview young witnesses and their parents -- which took some time -- before taking action.
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