Kevin Purvis, an equipment manager for University of Georgia Bulldogs football team, is accused of using a hidden camera to capture images of at least one male student using the shower in the team’s locker room.
Purvis, 37, was booked into Athens-Clarke County Jail at 8:48 p.m. Friday and charged with four felonies and a misdemeanor. Three of the felonies are for illegal eavesdropping or surveillance. The other felony was for possession of a Schedule II controlled substance and the misdemeanor was for possession of marijuana.
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Purvis has been with the Bulldogs since 2006, according to his bio on the athletic department’s website.
Purvis’ arrest came nearly a month after an unidentified person found a camera hidden in a shower area of Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall. UGA officials called police on Feb. 27 and an investigation was immediately initiated. Several people witnessed police conducting a search of a car – believed to belong to Purvis — in the Butts-Mehre employee parking lot while a Georgia baseball game was being played across the street. Police also searched the first floor of the building, which is where the football team’s locker room, training facility and weight room are located, and Purvis’ Timothy Road residence.
Arrest warrants for Purvis were executed Friday by the Athens-Clarke County sheriff’s office and Purvis turned himself into the jail later that night. He remains incarcerated on $16,000 in bonds.
UGA spokesman Claude Felton said the athletic association was aware of Purvis’ arrest and that he had already been terminated. Felton declined further comment but emailed a prepared statement.
“As soon as it learned of the incident, the Athletic Association notified the University of Georgia Police Department, who began their investigation. The University took immediate action, and the employee was terminated early in the investigation. Based on the findings of the police investigation, no student-athletes were victims in this incident.”
Georgia law defines illegal eavesdropping or surveillance as “any person, through the use of any device, without the consent of all persons observed, to observe, photograph, or record the activities of another which occur in any private place and out of public view.” source
Purvis works with the football team on a daily basis and also assists coach Kirby Smart with his summer football camps.