A member of Wilmington College's women's soccer team looked up inside her locker room Tuesday night and spotted something no one expects to see in a ceiling panel: a man watching her and her teammates change. Campus safety officers were already holding the suspect, identified as Jayson Barker of Jeffersonville, by the time Wilmington Police arrived at the Scheve Athletic Center at 9:40 p.m.
Barker was working as a custodian for a third-party contractor when he allegedly hid in the ceiling space above the women's locker room and took photographs of players changing, according to the Wilmington News Journal. He was arrested on 11 counts of voyeurism, and as WKRC reports, Wilmington Police said Barker had hidden in the locker room ceiling area before a soccer team member discovered him there.
Barker was booked into the Clinton County Jail on a $22,000 cash/surety bond and is scheduled for an initial appearance in Clinton County Municipal Court at 2 p.m. on October 5, per the same account. Investigators told the outlet that the criminal probe remains active as they review potential evidence, and the initial 11 counts could grow depending on what that review turns up.
College Cuts Ties With Contractor Within a Day
Wilmington College fired Scioto Services, the janitorial firm that employed Barker, the day after his arrest. The school has provided counseling and other support services to affected students since Tuesday night, according to WKRC, and says it is taking measures to make sure no student's safety or well-being is compromised while assisting law enforcement's investigation.
Scioto Services is a janitorial and facility management firm founded in 1975 that employs more than 1,900 workers across Ohio and West Virginia and has offices in both states. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of Marsden Holding in 2005.
The Facility, and the Coach Behind Its Name
The alleged spying took place inside the Scheve Athletic Center, a building named for longtime women's basketball coach Jerry Scheve, whose $23 million gift to Wilmington College funded new athletic facilities. Groundbreaking on the center was set for September 27.
What Barker Could Face Under Ohio Law
Under Ohio Revised Code Section 2907.08, voyeurism charges can range from misdemeanors to a fifth-degree felony. Ohio law defines voyeurism as surreptitiously invading someone's privacy in a place where they have a reasonable expectation of it.
This is not the first time a Southwest Ohio campus has confronted an employee accused of covertly recording students. In February, a former Xavier University employee was charged with voyeurism after allegedly recording a student undressing in a campus facility, a case in which his duties ended and search warrants recovered videos, as Hoodline previously reported.
For now, Wilmington Police say the investigation into Barker remains open. How long he worked on campus, what vetting Scioto Services performed before placing him there, and whether forensic analysis turns up additional victims are all questions that remain unanswered as the case heads toward its October court date.
