BATON ROUGE, LA. (THECOUNT) — “American Idol” winner, Laine Hardy, announced Thursday that he is under investigation by the Louisiana State University Police Department.
Hardy, 21, revealed the news in a Thursday night Facebook post, saying the LSUPD issued “a warrant due to allegations made against me.”
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On Friday, he was taken into custody.
LSU released the following statement:
“Laine Reed Hardy (Non-LSU student) was arrested by LSU Police today and booked into East Baton Rouge Parish Prison for violation of 15:1303 — Interception and Disclosure of Wire, Electronic, or Oral Communication. His arrest warrant has been filed with clerk of court.”
The American Idol champion has been accused of planting a recording device in his ex-girlfriend’s LSU dorm room.
Prison booking documents state that “the victim advised that last night, while watching a movie with her roommate, the located a device, appearing to be a phone charger under the victim’s futon.”
He and the victim dated from November 2021-February 2022 and the crime for which his was booked into jail took place in February 2022.
The booking document states that in February, “the victim … found a fake Instagram on the Defendant’s phone that he used to cover up that he was illegally recording her when he was not around,” adding that Hardy “had information about the victim and her actions during Christmas break that was not known to the defendant.”
The document states that she confronted him and Hardy “admitted that he left a ‘bug’ in her room later discarded it in his pond.” She later found a recording device on April 6 and police recovered it April 7 when they were dispatched to her dorm room.
He flew to Louisiana from Nashville late Thursday night and was booked Friday morning at EBR Parish Prison.
The country crooner did not specify what he was accused of but noted he was “fully cooperative” with cops as nearly two thousand of his fans posted messages of support, reports NYP.
“I understand that my career has thrust me into the public spotlight, and I embrace that wholeheartedly as my entire world belongs to my music and my fans,” he wrote.
“However, due to the sensitive nature of this allegation, I humbly ask for privacy at this time. I have the utmost respect for the law and will assist in their investigation as needed moving forward.”
LSU confirmed there was an active investigation against the musician, according to WAFB-TV.
Hardy won ABC’s “Idol” in 2019 and is known for his hits “Memorize You” and “Flame.”
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