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A North Carolina man is facing felony charges for clandestinely filming boys in a hockey arena bathroom after one victim's father spotted his camera under a stall, police said.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police arrested John Cutter, 61, on March 8 after carrying out a search warrant at his home. There, according to an affidavit obtained by Fox News Digital, they found seven videos taken in several restrooms at Bojangles Coliseum featuring children using urinals.
Police launched an investigation after a father contacted them on Feb. 24 saying that he "observed a hand and a recording device similar to a 'GoPro' going under the stall" while he and his 11-year-old son waited for the boy's 12-year-old friend to finish using the bathroom.
The father told police that he confronted the man, who then walked away. At that point, the father contacted security and police.
John Cutter, 61, was arrested on March 8 and charged with more than 15 counts of secret peeping, according to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. (Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department)
The father confronted Cutter around 4:35 p.m., police said, about 15 minutes after he and the children arrived at the venue. Security footage showed Cutter leaving the building at 4:47 p.m.
Although they couldn't find the man in the arena, security footage allowed security staff to identify his car. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police ran the license plate and identified Cutter as a suspect.
One of Cutter's neighbors in East Charlotte told WSOC-TV the incident was "unsettling."
"It makes you think about who you're living around and who you can trust," she said. "You cannot be alone outside by yourself. You cannot go into anybody's house."
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Police wrote in their affidavit that Cutter allegedly had seven videos featuring approximately two minutes of footage showing minor victims in restrooms, filmed with a "GoPro-like device" at Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, pictured. (Google Street View)
Cutter was previously charged with indecent liberties with a minor in 1999, the department wrote in their affidavit. In 2008, two police reports against Cutter involving children were filed, detectives wrote.
In one instance, a woman reported Cutter after he asked to photograph her son in a public park.
Cutter was removed from the sex offender registry in 2011, police wrote.
The 61-year-old was charged with peeping using a photographic imaging device, peeping while possessing a device capable of creating a photographic image and possessing a photographic image obtained in violation of the peeping statute, according to the document.
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Cutter posted $17,000 bail after spending approximately 10 hours in jail, according to Queen City News.
Bojangles Coliseum staff wrote in a statement that they were "deeply disturbed" by the incident and expressed their "strongest condemnation of this behavior."
"Our comprehensive security measures are designed to respond to potential threats, with the goal of creating a secure environment where families and individuals can enjoy events with peace of mind," the venue said. "We are grateful for the quick action taken by the parent in bringing this to our attention. Because of the seamless collaboration between our security team and CMPD, the offender was identified on the day of the event, leading to his arrest."
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