[F]ormer Rice Memorial High School teacher Brian Lynam has pleaded not guilty in superior court to two additional charges of voyeurism stemming from “upskirt” photographs he took of staff members at the school earlier this year.
Lynam, 31, was initially cited in March after he was witnessed taking an upskirt photograph of a student at the Catholic high school in South Burlington. He remains free on conditions.
The additional charges come after the Vermont State Police searched Lynam’s electronic devices and discovered 10 to 15 different upskirt photographs of female students, multiple upskirt photos of staff members and upskirt images of 10 to 15 women in the community, according to an affidavit written by South Burlington Police Cpl. Kevin Grealis.
For each voyeurism offense, Lynam faces no more than two years in prison and a fine of no more than $1,000.
Lynam’s lawyer, Paul Volk, did not return a call seeking comment. Calls to Rice Memorial High School also were not returned.
The affidavit states that Grealis showed Rice Principal Lisa Lorenz the images to identify the students and staff members, but the students could not be identified because the photos were close-ups of their legs, skirts and buttocks. Two staff members were identified.
One of the staff members told police that she usually ate lunch in the break room around the same time as Lynam and other staff members. She was able to identify herself in four photographs taken in that room by her dress, shoes and bag. She told investigators she was disturbed by the photographs.
Lynam allegedly took photographs of the other staff member in the high school’s copier room. That staff member started crying during her interview with police and “became very emotional upon discovering that photos of her had been taken without her consent.”
Lorenz emailed the families of students and staff members on Tuesday, the Burlington Free Press reported.
She wrote that the she was “deeply disturbed by Mr. Lynam’s actions and the impact they have had on our school community” and said that counselors were available for students.
“Using every vetting measure available when screening adults working with our students, employing ‘see something, say something’ reporting guidelines, and emphasizing the importance of taking care of one another are critical ways we can keep our community safe,” she wrote.
The affidavit states that additional upskirt photographs found on Lynam’s devices were taken outside of the school, apparently in Burlington, at a grocery store, and in an area with palm trees that was likely out of state.
At a hearing on the initial charge, police said Lynam cited as evidence journals kept by Lynam.
In passages from a hand-written journal labeled “Notes for Therapy,” Lynam wrote: “Fetish for voyeur situations and exhibition, derived possibly from early childhood experience of catching view up teachers skirt. I keep track of all sightings that arouse me sexually, many documented by date and time.”
The school first called South Burlington Police on March 20, after a student had told a school counselor that he had seen Lynam follow a female student into a staircase and take a photograph up her skirt. That incident occurred on March 7.
Lynam was put on administrative leave on March 20 and was referred to as the school’s “former” music teacher in Lorenz’s email to the school community. The Free Press reported that he had been fired.
