Stratford Man Accused Of Recording Westport Student: PD

WESTPORT, CT — Police said a Westport Public Schools maintenance employee is accused of recording videos of a student with his cellphone. According to a press release, police said School Resource Officer Ed Wooldridge observed Paul Telep, 52, of Stratford in the Staples High School cafeteria on April 2, where he appeared to be recording students, particularly a female student, with his work cell phone.

Police said Wooldridge confronted the accused about the incident and notified school officials. Staples administrators later seized the phone, as it was property of the school system, police said.

"A forensic search of the phone conducted by Westport detectives revealed Telep had deleted seven videos," Lieutenant Jillian Cabana said in a release. "The videos all featured the same female student recorded on different dates/times, including the incident in which Telep was observed by [Wooldridge]. Both the student and her mother were notified and the student advised she was unaware she had been recorded."

An arrest warrant application for the accused was submitted and later granted, police said.

Police said the accused turned himself in at police headquarters on May 7 on the outstanding warrant and was charged with third-degree stalking.