She also had two bottles of water in her hand, which she placed on the table next to her briefcase. “Hi,” she said cheerfully, “I’m Lisa Benson, and you must be Coach Lehman?”
Jane already liked her a lot better. Not only was she smiling, but she also called her ‘coach,’ which was already a step in the right direction. “Yes, I’m Jane Lehman, and thank you for addressing me as coach; I appreciate it — really.”
“Okay Coach,” Lisa said with a smile. “But if you don’t mind, I’ll probably just call you Jane going forward if that’s alright.”
“Yes, of course,” Jane responded. “I told the detectives that only my friends get to call me Jane, and I already consider you a friend.”
Lisa didn’t open her briefcase or take out any file or legal pad; she just opened a water bottle for herself and handing one to Jane, simply said, “Well, thank you.”
Jane had not had anything to drink in hours, and the bottled water was much appreciated. After both women satisfied their thirst and Jane finally relaxed enough to recline back in her chair, Lisa said, “Jane, I have not read your file, and I don’t know the circumstances of your arrest. However, here is what I’ve been informed of. The primary charge against you is unlawful photography, which is only a misdemeanor, so I wouldn’t be too concerned about that.”
“However,” Lisa continues, “I heard them discussing sexual battery by an authority figure, and a half dozen other much more substantial charges. All of these are very serious crimes, and all of which could be tried as felonies.”
“Do you think they are serious,” Jane asks.
“Well, the problem is that state law bans all sexual relationships between educators and students even if the student is of legal age and the relationship is consensual,” Lisa answered. “So maybe you should start at the beginning and tell me your side of the story.”
Jane sat in total silence for almost a minute. “Okay,” she finally said. “I trust you, and I know the only way you can help me is to hear everything. So here goes.”
“About six years ago, the university started installing security cameras all over campus; every classroom, every hallway, the library, the commons, all lobbies, and even the parking lots. Over a period of three or four years, they installed cameras in every public space on campus. Every space, of course, except dorm rooms, bathrooms, and locker rooms.”
“I understood the dorm rooms and the bathrooms, but over time it occurred to me that there could be security issues in the locker room. Well, maybe not security issues in the traditional sense, but you know things that the coach should be aware of. You know — things the girls may not want to discuss with me directly, but things I should be aware of.”
Jane knew this was primarily bull shit, but she was trying to spin it the best she could.
“Well, I told one of the installers from the security company that I wanted a similar system for my house and that I was pretty sure I could install it myself if he could just show me the basics — which he did. I then found all of the components on the internet. I bought them on eBay and had them shipped directly to my house. Then over the next several months, I came up to my office at night and on weekends and installed them throughout the locker room. The cameras are all linked to a single Wi-Fi transmitter in the ceiling, and then I can receive an encrypted signal on my laptop through a secure link.”
“So, no wires are connecting the cameras to your office,” Lisa asked.
“That’s right — there are no wires,” Jane quickly responded. “It only went through an encrypted Wi-Fi link; there is no hardline link to my office or to anyone else.”
“So,” Lisa said slowly, “you were aware that setting up cameras in the girls’ locker room was — let’s say inappropriate?”
Jane paused for a moment before responding, “Yes, I knew there was a potential issue,” Jane said, looking down at the table.
“So, the original intention wasn’t sexual gratification,” Lisa asked.
“Oh no,” Jane said, picking up on Lisa’s spin of the facts.
“Well okay, so tell me then about how and why you stored the tapes,” Lisa asked.
“Well — okay at first, I wasn’t going to save them. And they aren’t really tapes; they’re digital video images,” Jane explained.
Lisa nodded that she understood the difference and asked, “Does that mean the images are still encrypted?”
“Well no, if the police get past my computer’s log-in, the videos are not protected,” Jane said, realizing that she had pretty much left two years’ worth of incriminating evidence in plain sight for the police to find.
“Okay, so go on,” Lisa said.
“Well — you know I’m a lesbian, right?”
Lisa nodded.
“Well, I might be gay, but I’m not a pedophile. I am perfectly happy with my partner Laura. We’ve been together sixteen years, and I’ve never looked at another woman — well, I guess I should say I’ve never touched another woman. But those girls are so cute. Watching them dress and undress, not knowing that anyone was watching, was more of a turn-on than I expected. Besides, I actually know each and every one of them, and this just helps me to know them that much better.”
“I could never learn so much about them in any other way. And this way, I get to know them more personally so I can coach them better, train them, and mold them into the championship team they are. I could never get that kind of personal knowledge just talking face-to-face with them. And besides, they are just so fucking cute when they don’t know anyone is watching. I mean, they tease each other and play around with each other in the shower. Some of them actually walk around the locker room naked just to show off. So, it’s not like they are actually all that insecure. I actually think some of them are amateur exhibitionists.”