A former teacher in Georgia has been arrested after he allegedly used a special device to film under his students’ clothes.
The Hall County Sheriff’s Office said that Joel Ernest Lulinski has been accused of committing the acts while working as a coach and physical education teacher at Lanier Christian Academy in Flowery Branch, according to Atlanta News First.
The sheriff’s office said that the victims were all female students under the age of 16.
The investigation into Lulinski, 52, first began on April 2 after a victim reported her suspicions that the teacher was acting inappropriately. School officials then contacted a deputy, who was already working extra duty at the school, and he shared the report with the agency’s Criminal Investigations Bureau (CIB).
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The investigation lasted 12 days, with investigators determining that Lulinski had used his cellphone “on multiple occasions to take inappropriate and surreptitious photos or videos of minor children during the course of normal school activities.”
Lulinski was taken into custody on Thursday, April 16, at HCSO headquarters. He was then booked into the Hall County Jail and currently remains in custody on a $175,500 bond.
He has been charged with 27 counts of the felony charge of the use or installation of a device to film underneath or through an individual’s clothing under certain circumstances.
It is not currently clear if Lulinski has entered a plea or retained legal counsel. The Hall County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to Us Weekly’s request for comment regarding the arrest.
School officials referred to Lulinski as a former employee in a press release sent to Atlanta News First on the day of his arrest.
School officials said they told the sheriff’s office about the allegations within three hours of learning about them, and they remained in full compliance with Georgia law amid the investigation.
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Lanier Christian Academy said that Lulinski “was employed as a teacher and coach with the school since 2019 and underwent background screening prior to hiring and at regular intervals during [his] employment.”
“While this news is devastating for the victims and heartbreaking for our school community, we are grateful this was reported. As a school family, we are shocked and grieved by these events,” the statement continued. “We realize there will be questions and concerns, and we want to address them promptly and with care.”
Lulinski previously worked as the high school’s head varsity football coach, the bio in the official LCA Varsity Football X account, per the outlet. However, his name has since been removed from the team’s bio.
