Copyright Arkansas Online
NEOSHO, Mo. -- A former high school janitor has pleaded guilty to placing cameras in a girls' locker room and recording video of students at the beginning of the 2024-25 school year. Rodger Dale Copeland, 54, pleaded guilty Oct. 14 to two counts of felony invasion of privacy and 20 counts of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child, according to court documents. Copeland's sentencing hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. Dec. 23 at the Newton County Courthouse in Neosho, Mo. Neosho police and deputies with the Sheriff's Office in McDonald County, Missouri, arrested Copeland on Sept. 27, 2024, in connection with placing cameras in the McDonald County High School girls' locker room. He told an officer in an early statement placing the cameras in the locker room was "an experiment" and he wanted to look at the girls because they were "pretty," according to court documents. Copeland told the officer that placing the camera "had to do a lot with him being lonely," the documents state. Copeland's guilty plea is part of a plea deal with prosecutors that promised his sentences would all run concurrently and the maximum sentence would be capped at six years in return for a guilty plea, according to court documents. According to the plea details, Copeland will be free to argue for probation or a lesser sentence. Copeland's statement of facts in the guilty plea reads as follows: "At the beginning of the 2024 school year, I placed a camera in the McDonald County High School girls locker room. Two instances of partial nudity were recorded, and 20 girls under 17 years of age were identifiable on the recording. I understand that finding out you were recorded without your knowledge could affect your mental health." Copeland was charged with two counts of felony invasion of privacy for videos filmed of two confidential victims under the age of 17, "in a state of full or partial nudity without the consent of (the victim) while (the victim) was in the McDonald County High School locker room, a place where a person would have a reasonable expectation of privacy and more than one person was filmed, videotaped and viewed during the same course of conduct" in two video files, according to court documents. Under Missouri statute, invasion of privacy is a Class A misdemeanor, unless the image or video is transmitted or disseminated, if the offender has previously been found guilty of invasion of privacy, or if more than one person is captured in the photo or video. In such cases, including Copeland's, the invasion of privacy becomes a Class E felony. Invasion of privacy in Missouri also becomes a Tier I sexual offense if the victim is under 18 years of age. The range of punishment for a Class E felony is imprisonment for one to four years, a fine of up to $10,000 or a combination of both. Copeland was also charged with 20 counts of the Class D felony first-degree endangering the welfare of a child because there were 20 confidential victims under the age of 17, according to court documents. When he was arrested in 2024, the original charges against Copeland were sexual exploitation of a minor, possession of child pornography and invasion of privacy with victim less than 18 years of age. Copeland was to be tried in McDonald County under Judge John LePage, then was reassigned to Judge Christine Rhoades at the request of his defense attorney. A special prosecutor was appointed in February, and the charges were changed to five counts of invasion of privacy, then finally to a second amended complaint consisting of the two counts of invasion of privacy and 20 counts of endangering welfare of a child. In April, Rhoades issued an order to raise the security level on the case, and the court documents were removed from public view on Missouri's online case filing system. In June, Copeland's lawyer filed for a change of venue from McDonald County. The motion was granted in July, and the case moved to Newton County. After Copeland pleaded guilty, the Missouri attorney general asked the court to lower the security level on the case to allow public access to the plea and pending sentence date.
