LANCASTER, Pa. — Update, 10 a.m. (Nov. 17): The 17-year-old student accused of secretly recording a conversation between two teachers at the Lancaster County Career & Technology Center did so because she believed she was being racially targeted by one of them, according to details in the search warrant used by West Lampeter Township Police to seize the student's phone.
The student, whose name is not being released due to her juvenile status, was charged Tuesday with felony counts of interception, disclosure or use of wire electronic or oral communications and criminal use of communication facility.
One of the teachers contacted authorities after receiving a text message from a former student who claimed she had received a recording of a conversation between the teacher and another staff member at the school that she believed was taken without their consent, the search warrant said.
The recording was made on a phone hidden inside a locker at the Willow Street school, according to police.
In an interview with investigators, the former student who texted the teacher said the 17-year-old suspect accused of making the recording had previously reached out to her on social media and asked if she had any experiences with racism while at LCCTC.
The suspect claimed she was being racially targeted by a teacher at the school, and that she was "recording everything for proof," police said in the search warrant.
The suspect also told the former student she had "left her cell phone in her locker" to see what the teacher said about her when she wasn't present, the warrant said.
The teacher who was contacted by the former student received a video on Oct. 25 of her having a conversation with another teacher on the previous day, police said. The teacher confirmed to police that the recording had been made without her knowledge or consent.
Police did not disclose the race of the former student, the teacher, or the suspect in the warrant.
Previously
A Lancaster County student has been accused of secretly recording teachers, according to West Lampeter Township Police.
The 17-year-old student allegedly was recording teachers while at Lancaster County Career & Technology Center.
The student has been charged with interception, disclosure or use of wire, electronic or oral communications and criminal use of a communication facility. The charges have been graded as third-degree felonies.
It is unclear at this time why the recordings were made.
