Top private school caught recording visiting sports teams inside their locker room

A Southern California private school has been accused of secretly monitoring and recording visiting student athletes while inside a makeshift locker room inside the choir room.

Three student athletes have filed a complaint against Santa Fe Christian Schools in San Diego County’s Solano Beach alleging that the school “secretly monitored and recorded” them through a camera in the choir room located on the campus “without their knowledge or consent,” per the complaint.

Filed by Adler Law Group APLC, the complaint alleges that “minors, student athletes, coaches from other schools, and others,” were secretly recorded by the school while those players were “undressing to change into their uniform or clothes and conducting other private activities.”

Ellen Adler, Partner with the law group told NBC San Diego, “We were shocked that there were any cameras in there as students dress and undress in there.”

In the complaint filed April 1, the attorney alleges that the schools “did not disclose” the presence of a camera in the room the visiting student athletes used.

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“They were never told to go somewhere else to go change their clothes,” Adler said.

The attorney for the three students listed in the complaint said that “This was in violation of California’s constitution, the right to privacy, and also various statutory, both criminal and civil statues concerning the right to privacy.”

Adler said the students from the visiting team only became aware that they had been recorded on Jan. 17, after the athletic director for Santa Fe Schools showed the video to the AD of the visiting school, regarding alleged damage to the room that the school claimed happened while that team was there.

Santa Fe Christians Schools sent a statement to the outlet, confirming the choir room has a security camera.

“As do all all the other classrooms throughout the campus for their broader commitment to student safety and campus security.”

In the statement, the school also said that “a visiting team is permitted to use the choir room as a meeting space, along with the nearby restrooms if anyone is in need of them.”

Adler said “the difference is this wasn’t during school hours.”

“This was for a sporting event and for visiting athletes who didn’t know there was a camera in there, who were directed as the visiting team to do everything they need to do to prepare for the game.” 

The attorney told the outlet the goal of the complaint is to stop other visiting athletes from allegedly being recorded without their knowledge, stop any possibility of the recordings from being distributed and is hoping to get “fair compensation for any other players who may have been recorded.”

Adler said this could be the beginning of a much larger proposed suit, claiming that there could be hundreds of players who get involved who she said may not have realized that there was camera in the choir room and that they were being recorded.

The Post reached out to the Adler Law Group APLC and Santa Fe Christian Schools for further comment.