JACKSON CO., Ill.—A Carterville teacher joins the list of those who have been accused of crimes against children of a sexual nature.
Michael Norrington’s Jackson County mugshot
Michael Norrington, 40, of Carbondale, has been charged as of yesterday (June 12, 2014) with a single count of unauthorized video recording that’s been categorized specifically as “Videotaping Under Clothes of a Victim Under the Age of 18.” The charge states that it is unlawful for a person to photograph or videotape a person under or through clothing for the purpose of viewing the body of or undergarments worn by that person without their consent (popularly known in many locations as “upskirt” videos, a manner of perversion that certain sick people have actually fought in court in other states, and have won.)
In this case, there doesn’t appear to be any way anyone’s going to win any such thing, particularly because it involves a minor. Authorities have accused Norrington, a band director at Carterville schools, of taking photos of a 14-year-old girl’s behind while at the Goodwill store in Carbondale on Wednesday, June 11. While the complaint isn’t as specific as to name ”upskirt” videos or photos, it does say that Norrington “took several photos under or through the clothing of the child,” lending to the belief that it may have indeed been an upskirt shot, possibly through a changing room at the business.
Norrington was the subject of a call to police while in the store, which was characterized as a “disorderly conduct” complaint, and after police took a complaint from the parents, Norrington went with responding Carbondale police officials and was arrested and booked.
Jackson County authorities confirmed that Norrington’s bail was set at $25,000, and he bonded out yesterday by posting $2,500 cash.
Norrington joins the growing list of educators in the downstate area who have been hemmed up on similar charges, most recently Timothy Going in Wayne and St. Clair counties; and Danny Bonnell in Crawford County. Then of course there are the teachers who’ve been busted for going a little farther than photos or videos: Haven Kirkpatrick, Levi Damron and Robert Yeley come immediately to mind, although there have been others in recent years too, including a couple from the East Richland High School district, Curt Dobbs and Adam Bussard (too old of a case to have made the website, this dating back to 2006) among that number. Is it a trend? Are people getting ideas from other cases? Is there a movement on in this country to normalize such perverse behavior? And are our children next in line to become victims of this movement?
There’s no way to know the answers to a lot of that…so we’ll just have to stay vigilant as parents, as these in the case of Norrington did.
In the meantime, Norrington appears in front of a judge in Jackson County July 1 for a preliminary hearing. Mark your RSS feeds for Disclosure to keep apprised of this and other situations like it.