A teacher accused of using a tiny spy camera to record his kindergarten students in the bathroom has been indicted on nearly 150 additional charges after his computer was further investigated.
The indictment against 32-year-old Elliot Gornall, of Lorain, was filed late last week. It includes 86 new counts of illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material or performance and four new counts of attempted use. It also includes 55 new counts of pandering obscenity involving a minor.
Authorities say Gornall recorded 25 of his students using a camera he installed in a bathroom next to his classroom in Loudonville, about 80 miles south of Cleveland. The images were recorded between August and November of 2014.
The additional charges follow investigators’ continued analysis of Gornall’s computer and other related equipment, said Ashland County Prosecutor Christopher Tunnell. They come after an initial complaint filed in March charged him with 23 counts of illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented materials or performance and two counts of attempted use.
Messages seeking comment from Gornall’s attorney weren’t immediately returned.
The new charges stem from additional videos discovered on Gornall’s computer, not the discovery of more victims, Tunnell said.
Gornall began teaching in Loudonville in 2011 and resigned in November. The first videos and images were found on Gornall’s computer after it was seized during a drug-related search of his home in November. Gornall was indicted on drug possession charges as well as receiving stolen property after investigators found 13 pairs of children’s underwear in the home.
Prosecutors and investigators have kept school officials and the families of the affected children informed on the case and will continue to do so, Tunnell said.
Students at the school have been resilient, parents have been supportive and the staff has managed to keep a sense of routine in the wake of Gornall’s arrest and charges, said John Miller, superintendent of Loudonville-Perry Exempted Village School District.
“It hits everybody when something like this happens, but our focus at this point has to be on maintaining a state of normalcy,” he said.
Gornall’s next court date is scheduled for Friday.
Mi wahn know how dem yah dutty man ya slip tru di cracks..all lakka him yah now him need some jungle justice–a good and nice piece a beating a him skin–den carry him guh lock him up and dash weh di key..