Towson University diving coach indicted in videotaping incident
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Version 0 of 1. A Towson University diving coach was indicted Monday by a grand jury in connection with a cellphone that was secretly recording video inside the women’s team locker room, school officials said. Maureen Mead, 43, of Lutherville was charged in Baltimore County Circuit Court with altering evidence, peeping Tom and interception of communication, according to the university and online court records obtained by the Baltimore Sun. Mead did not return a call to her home made by the Sun on Monday night. It does not appear that she has a lawyer listed in court records, according to the Sun. The Web site for the swimming and diving team had listed Pat Mead, her husband, as the head coach for more than a decade. The team has been rocked since October, when members told authorities that they found a smartphone that was recording them in their locker room at the Burdick pool on campus in Baltimore County. Team members had told authorities that the video recorder had been running for more than seven minutes before it was discovered. The locker rooms for the team’s male and female athletes are secure spaces; to enter either one requires punching in a five-digit access code. In a statement issued Monday night, the university said Maureen Mead had been placed on paid administrative leave since the incident was reported. “The investigation continues regarding other members of the coaching staff, and we will provide more information when it becomes available,” the university said in a statement. “The well-being of our student-athletes remains and will continue to be our top priority.” Last week, Towson withdrew from a swim and dive meet in Pittsburgh, and the school announced changes to its swimming and diving coaching staff. Three members of the team — one male, two female — spoke last week with The Washington Post. They contended that the university had been slow to investigate the incident — which was to them a shocking invasion of privacy — and had not kept the team adequately informed of progress. One team member said at the time: “I don’t support the way the athletic department and the administration are handling this at all. They’re looking out for their best interest, not ours.” Reached on Tuesday, two team members declined to comment on the indictment. |