Montgomery County cheerleading instructor hid camera in bathroom to photograph children, police say

ROCKVILLE, Md. - Police have arrested a man they say used a hidden camera to take pictures of children and adults in the bathroom of a Montgomery County cheerleading studio where he was an instructor.

Investigators say the images were taken at the Shockwave Allstars cheerleading studio on Southdown Court in Rockville. They were contacted by the program's owner on Feb. 12 who told them an instructor, identified as 21-year-old Cristian Gill, admitted to placing a USB style hidden camera inside a unisex bathroom at the studio.

The owner said Gill, an assistant coach at the studio, handed him the device and admitted to placing the hidden camera in the bathroom but said no pictures were taken. The admission, the owner told officers, came a few days after another employee located the device near the bathroom's sink and left it by an office computer.

The owner told investigators that after Gill admitted to him that he placed the camera in the bathroom he was told to leave the property and police were called. Officials said Gill also admitted to taking photos up women's skirts in the community and would also record his roommate's girlfriend using the bathroom at his home.

Police say they searched Gill's home and seized several electronic devices. Investigators say they found 49 photographs on a tablet that they believe were taken inside of the Shockwave Allstars cheerleading studio bathroom. Police say some of the images showed children and adults in the bathroom and others showed Gill putting the camera into place. Investigators say it appears some photographs were deleted from the device.

Detectives also say they notified the victims who could be identified from the photographs and said they were unable to determine the identity of some of the victims.

Gill was arrested on Wednesday and faces 58 charges, including felony sexual abuse of a minor and conducting visual surveillance of another person in a private place without consent. He was due in court on May 18 and faces 25 years in prison if found guilty.

Shockwave Allstars released the following statement to FOX 5:

"We are unable to comment on the specific incident other than to say that we acted quickly, notified the authorities, and kept our families informed with information provided to us by the police. We will continue to support the police in all efforts associated with this matter."

Shockwave Allstars added that all of their employees go through annual background checks and stated Gill passed those checks.

Anyone with information about the investigation is asked to call Special Victims Investigations Division detectives at (240) 773-5400.