A teacher at Green Mountain Union High School in Chester was arrested on federal counts of making and possessing child sex abuse materials after reportedly capturing young girls walking in front of him at school using hidden cameras in his home bathroom.
Norman Merrill, II, 45, of Chester, is scheduled to appear in federal court in Burlington. Federal prosecutors announced on Thursday that they will argue that Merrill should be held in custody while his case is being resolved.
In the prosecution’s brief, Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan Ophardt stated, “The preliminary appraisal of the material supports a conclusion that defendant Merrill cannot be released on conditions, considering the danger he poses to the community.”
“Merrill’s conduct is particularly concerning and indicative of danger to the community in light of his position as a high school teacher, and his apparent violation of the trust the community has placed in him to care for and teach their children,” Ophardt wrote.
According to authorities, Merrill was arrested on Thursday after a federal grand jury indicted him on accusations of making and possessing child sex abuse materials.
According to court documents made public on Thursday, Chester Police Department officials received a report of possible voyeurism at Merrill’s residence on May 7. According to the records, Chester police interviewed a child who claimed to have discovered a recording device in a restroom at Merrill’s home two days later.
According to court records, the youngster also informed police about seeing Merrill at Green Mountain Union High School, holding his phone by his waist as if he was recording photographs of the young girls walking in front of him.
According to the documents, Chester police obtained search warrants for Merrill’s house and electronic devices on May 10 and executed them the next day, taking multiple gadgets including “pinhole cameras” and a “spy camera.”
According to court filings, Vermont State Police discovered a memory card containing multiple videos of naked young girls taken in toilets.
“The voyeuristic videos appear to have been produced in multiple different bathrooms,” prosecutors wrote in a filing seeking to hold Merrill in custody. Authorities had not yet identified “all of the bathrooms depicted in the videos” but had associated two of them with houses “frequented” by Merrill, they wrote.
Last known contact information:
Address: 32 Regina Ln Chester, VT 05143
Phone: (802) 522-7163
Email: nmerrill@nc.rr.com
