Former Teacher, Coach Gets 21 Months For Recording Boys In Shower

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A former teacher and coach in southern Minnesota pleaded guilty to charges in Faribault County Court Monday after he recorded minors in a locker room shower after basketball games last December.

Zach Roberts, 28, pleaded guilty to four counts of interfering with privacy of a minor and in exchange, had four other charges dropped. He was sentenced to 21 months in prison. That sentenced is stayed, presuming Roberts gets treatment and follows the terms of his probation.

Roberts was a teacher and basketball coach with Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton Schools. According to court documents, the incident happened on Dec. 14, 2015 during a basketball game in Wells. A criminal complaint states Roberts used a pen to record four boys, ages 14 and 15, going in and out of the shower.

The complaint states players discovered the camera when one of them tried to borrow a pen from the coach's bag but discovered that it was a camera. Later that month, Roberts spoke with police after investigators discovered video files from the pen. He admitted to using the pen to record the boys 40 to 50 times in the past and used the videos for sexual gratification.

Roberts must report to the Faribault County Jail by Dec. 26 and will serve 90 days in jail. That will change to 21 months if he violates probation.