Platt High School coach charged with voyeurism after allegedly recording student changing in school bathroom
A coach at Platt High School in Meriden was arrested on Tuesday after he allegedly attempted to record a student changing in a school bathroom in January, according to police.
The Meriden Police Department began investigating an act of voyeurism at Platt in January after they received a complaint from Meriden Public Schools. A female student reported they saw a cell phone recording in a bathroom while she was preparing to change after practice, according to Meriden Mayor Kevin Scarpati.
Daniel Barillaro Jr., 23, who was an assistant boys and girls diving coach at Platt High School, was identified as a suspect in the case. His phone was seized and analyzed during the investigation. Officers found no additional evidence of voyeurism or other victims while analyzing his phone, police said.
Police obtained a warrant charging him with voyeurism. He was arrested on Tuesday after turning himself into police and released on a $5,000 bond. He is scheduled to appear in Meriden Superior Court on Feb. 22.
Immediately after the allegation, Barillaro was placed on leave by Meriden Public Schools and did not have access to children, police said. He no longer works for the school or district, according to Scarpati.
“The Meriden Police Department would like to acknowledge the bravery of this student to come forward and report this incident,” the department said in a release.
Scarpati encouraged anyone with further information on this case to come forward and talk to police or members of the Meriden Board of Education.
“We also want to just ensure that our students and our staff have the support and, obviously, know that this is a serious event and the city of Meriden takes it very seriously,” Scarpati said.
He said that Meriden schools conduct background checks on each employee during the hiring process, and he was not aware of any previous incidents involving Barillaro.
