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A man was arrested after he allegedly recorded boys inside of a bathroom at Bojangles Coliseum in February using a “GoPro-like” device, according to court documents obtained by the Observer.
John Hastings Cutter IV, 61, was charged with multiple counts of felony and misdemeanor peeping for his alleged use of recording devices to take photos and videos of minors using the restroom.
An affidavit for obtaining an arrest warrant described the events of the Feb 24 incident, and the police investigation that followed.
Before finding their seats for a Charlotte Checkers hockey game, a parent, his 11-year-old son, and his son’s 12-year-old friend, went to the bathroom.
While the parent and his son waited for the 12-year-old, the parent saw someone place a camera under the stall the child was using. The parent’s son also observed the camera and mentioned it to him.
The parent waited for the person, later identified as Cutter, to exit the stall so he could confront him. Cutter denied the allegations when confronted by the parent and walked away.
The affidavit said Cutter could be seen entering and exiting bathrooms in security footage from the venue the day of the event, including entering the bathroom where the incident with the 12-year-old took place, at the time it took place.
Police were also able to identify a potential vehicle owned by the suspect using footage. The vehicle was registered to Cutter, which police later observed outside his home.
Charges and bond posted
Cutter was charged with 14 counts of peeping, according to court documents. Those charges included 11 counts of felony peeping and three counts of misdemeanor peeping.
Two bonds were also set for Cutter, according to the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office inmate search page. One bond was set at US$21,000 for seven felony charges, and the other set at US$17,000 for four felony, and three misdemeanor charges.
Cutter, according to court documents, posted both of the bonds through Allegheny Casualty Company, a bond insurance company.
Cutter’s criminal history
Cutter has a criminal history that includes at one time being placed on a sex offender registry after a conviction of indecent liberties with a minor in 1999. The document said in 2008, while he was a registered sex offender, two CMPD police reports were filed about Cutter asking someone, while in a park, to photograph their son.
He was removed from the sex offender registry in 2011. It’s unclear why.
On March 7, CMPD’s Cyber Crime Unit executed a residential search warrant at Cutter’s home and seized numerous electronics, including a “A Multi Look Alike KeyChain recording device” that resembled a fob.
The microSD taken from the device contained multiple videos, including footage from the day of the incident involving the 12-year-old, the affidavit said . It also said it appeared Cutter went to several public places where minors were located, including locker rooms and restrooms.
Response at Bojangles Coliseum
Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority (CRVA), the company that operates Bojangles Coliseum, provided the following statement about the incident:
“Ensuring the safety and security of our guests at Bojangles Coliseum is our highest priority. We are deeply disturbed by the recent incident and want to express our strongest condemnation of this behaviour.
Our security team, comprised of police officers, uniformed private security, event security and event staff, acted swiftly and in coordination with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) to address the incident and handle it with the seriousness it deserved.”
The statement continued: “We are committed to making Bojangles Coliseum a safe and welcoming venue for all attendees. We value the support and trust our community places in us as we continuously strive to uphold these values.”
On Tuesday, the group told the Observer that Cutter’s access to all CRVA facilities was indefinitely terminated, effective immediately. – The Charlotte Observer/Tribune News Service
