Md. Man Charged For Allegedly Secretly Filming Children During Backyard 'Splash Parties' At Home
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- A Chevy Chase man is facing child pornography charges for allegedly secretly recording dozens of children at his home and at a Silver Spring gymnastics center.
Jonathan Oldale was arrested Friday and charged with production of child pornography.
The 54-year-old father is accused of recording hundreds of videos in the bathroom of his home in July 2017.
Oldale allegedly hosted "splash parties" in his backyard where prosecutors said children would become covered in grass. According to a witness, Oldale made children take showers before they went home.
Prosecutors said Oldale recorded at least 30 children while they took off their clothes or bathing suits, took showers and got dressed in the bathroom.
In May 2017, police executed a search warrant at Oldale's home and found a program used to securely delete files from computers. A detective also identified a browser that enabled anonymous communication and access to the "dark web."
Investigators also found "various computer artifacts indicating that the user had accessed files with names indicative of child exploitation material."
Oldale was arrested in October following a months-long investigation. Police said at the time that Oldale had been charged with visual surveillance that involves prurient intent after a hidden camera was found at Silver Stars Gymnastics and Fitness in Silver Spring, where his kids attended classes.
RELATED: Md. Man Charged For Allegedly Placing Hidden Camera In Children's Gymnastics Restroom
An employee found the camera hidden inside a backpack in a restroom. Officials say the backpack had been placed under a wet floor sign in front of the bathroom's toilet.
The camera was hidden inside a non-functioning car key fob that turned out to be a camera, according to prosecutors. Investigators determined the backpack belonged to Oldale, who allegedly left the bag in the bathroom three weeks prior.
Oldale faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison for child pornography production.
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