A deacon in suburban Chattanooga, Tennessee, was arrested after he asked his wife to hold his smartphone while he underwent a dental procedure — only to have her drill down into his files and discover nudes of their 15-year-old babysitter recorded on a hidden camera, police said.
Christopher Thomas Collins, a 42-year-old deacon at Abba’s House in Hixson, Tennessee, was arrested Wednesday and charged with nine counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, the New York Post reported.
Police detained Collins after his wife discovered the videos. She suspected he had been cheating on her and searched his phone during emergency tooth surgery, according to the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office.
The Chattanooga Times Press explained:
The wife knew the girl as a family acquaintance who recently stayed overnight at the couple’s house. Collins’ wife thought her husband installed cameras inside the downstairs bathroom. She told police the minor appeared to notice the camera and was seen using the shower and toilet, according to the arrest report.
Around 30 minutes after finding the files, Collins’ wife confronted him inside the couple’s vehicle. He ignored her at first, the arrest report said, and then claimed the cameras were to capture rats in the ceiling. “She further reported that her husband stated he had forgotten the cameras were recording and claimed he hid the files from her to avoid jealousy,” the arrest report said.
Shaken by the discovery, Collins went to their church seeking some guidance. A counselor there encouraged her to call the police, according to news reports. Staff put her up in a hotel with her children for safety.
Police arrested Collins during a traffic stop.
Police seized Collins’ phone and searched his home, reportedly with his consent. They also obtained two SD cards from small cameras and an older cell phone.
Collins “admitted knowing about the cameras in the bathroom and using a mobile app to view images from the camera on his phone,” the ABC affiliate News9 reported.
Collins allegedly admitted to recording the teen, during an interview with cops.
Police found nine video files, time-stamped in 2025, from hidden bathroom cameras that show the girl entering and exiting the shower, using the toilet, and changing clothes, investigators said.
After his arrest, the church stripped Collins of his deacon title, which he had held for four years, according to pastor Ronnie Phillips Jr.
The pastor also said that Collins’ wife told him the girl in the videos was only 15 years old.
Contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the author of the New York Times true crime best seller House of Secrets and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com