Bethesda Teacher Accused of Taking Lewd Photos of Female Students: Police

A Gaithersburg man has been arrested and charged with three counts of sexual abuse of a minor for allegedly taking lewd photos of female students without their permission.

Montgomery County police said Todd Scriber, 38, was a teacher at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School. The three female victims were his students.

Scriber allegedly took photographs of the three women without their permission. Though the girls were fully clothed at the time, the photos "emphasized various areas of the female anatomy," according to police.

On Oct. 5, 2015, a 14-year-old female reported to police that she was a student of Scriber’s. She stated that on Oct. 2, she was completing an exam in his classroom after school. When she approached Scriber to ask a question about the exam, she noticed that he was holding a cellular phone and appeared to be taking photographs underneath her skirt.

The girl said she jumped back and created distance between Scriber and herself. She then completed the exam and went home and told her family what had occurred.

"This student’s report launched an investigation," police said in a statement.

On Oct. 6, a Montgomery County detective spoke with Scriber about the incident with the 14-year-old student. Police said Scriber agreed to allow the detective to view photos on his phone. While looking at the photographs on the phone, the investigator observed photographs of juvenile females who appeared to be in a classroom.

"The subject of the photographs was specific areas of the females’ bodies," the police statement said.

Once Scriber realized that the detective was viewing those photos, he attempted to grab the cellular phone. At that time, the detective seized the phone and obtained an official search warrant for his phone.

Police said Montgomery County Schools cooperated fully with Montgomery County Police during the investigation. After this initial police interview with Scriber, Montgomery County Public Schools placed Scriber on leave.

Scriber is no longer employed with the school system.

Police said two of the female victims were 16 years old, and one was 17.

Detectives obtained a warrant for Scriber’s arrest, charging him with three counts of child sexual abuse.

Scriber turned himself in to police on Wednesday.

Anyone who believes he or she may have been victimized by Scriber in a similar way should call the Special Victims Investigations Division at 240-773-5400.