Boy Scout chaperone hid cameras in camp bathrooms at Missouri ranch, sheriff says

A Boy Scout chaperone installed cameras in bathrooms at a popular Missouri ranch and secretly filmed campers, officials said.

David Lee Nelson, 39, is accused of hiding the cameras in two bathroom areas at Camp Gamble within the S Bar F Scout Ranch, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

Nelson was arrested this week on more than a dozen charges related to child pornography and invasion of privacy, according to online court records.

In a statement, St. Francois County Sheriff Dan Bullock said Nelson arrived at the camp July 18 and the cameras were discovered five days later, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

A detective told KTVI that campers assigned to clean the bathroom shower stalls found the cameras.

“The Greater St. Louis Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America places the safety and well-being of our Scouts, volunteers, and their families as our top priority,” the organization told KTVI in a statement. “We are saddened, disturbed, and angered by this incident as it runs counter to everything we stand for at the Greater St. Louis Area Council, Boy Scouts of America.”

According to a probable cause statement obtained by the Daily Journal, the cameras were found inside hand towel dispensers and equipped with memory cards and Wi-Fi ability. Investigators identified five children and an adult recorded by the cameras, and three boys remained unidentified as of Tuesday, the newspaper reported.

The probable cause statement said Nelson was identified by footage from the cameras, the Daily Journal reported.

The sheriff’s office said Nelson is from Redmond, Washington, but court records list a St. Louis address, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. He was at the camp last week as a chaperone for a St. Louis County troop, the newspaper reported.

The S Bar F Scout Ranch is about 90 miles south of St. Louis.

This story was originally published July 29, 2021 at 4:05 PM with the headline "Boy Scout chaperone hid cameras in camp bathrooms at Missouri ranch, sheriff says."