Videotape of Girls Locker Room Probed

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A water polo coach at a southern California high school has been fired after administrators found a secret videotape of girls undressing in their locker room, officials say.

Brian Akian, an assistant water polo coach at Marina High School in Huntington Beach, about 40 miles south of Los Angeles, was dismissed over allegations that he was involved in the taping, said Carol Osbrink, assistant superintendent of Huntington Beach Union High School District.

Osbrink said the tape was apparently made with a video camera that had been hidden in an equipment cage next to the girls' locker room and showed the students as they dressed, undressed and showered.

The tape was found in an office used by swimming and water polo coaches by another teacher, Osbrink said. She declined to say what led officials to Akian. "He has a role in this, let's just say that," Osbrink said Wednesday.

Osbrink said that, as a coach, Akian would have had access to the equipment cage and could have employed a school video camera normally used to tape matches. She said the tape is over 30 minutes long and contains footage shot over several days.

"The water polo team itself is upset for a number of reasons," Osbrink said. "There are a lot of unknowns and obviously the students and their parents are concerned. Some of the students have known this young man for quite a bit of time. It's been a very emotional time for them."