Moorefield Twp. man accused of secretly filming two girls

Ballard facing 36 felony charges for filming duo while they were naked.

A Moorefield Twp. man is awaiting an arraignment on 36 felony charges for using hidden cameras to secretly film two girls he knew while they were naked.

Jeffrey Ballard, 66, is in Clark County Jail and faces charges of 31 counts of illegal use of minor in nudity-oriented material, two counts of voyeurism and three counts of tampering with evidence.

“This individual had knowledge of how to install these hidden covert camera recording devices, in a manner that no one had any idea that this was actually taking place,” Clark County Sheriff Gene Kelly said.

Clark County Sheriff’s Office detectives started their investigation into Ballard’s activities in July.

The two victims, ages 16 and 12, saw inappropriate pictures of themselves on Ballard’s phone and their father reported the crime.

Once Ballard learned of the investigation, he tried deleting photos and videos off his hard drive, Kelly said.

Working with the prosecutor’s office and attorney general’s office, the sheriff’s office executed a search warrant at Ballard’s Moorefield Twp. home July 31.

Officers seized digital cameras, computers and Ballard’s cell phone.

Detectives found 41 still photos of the two girls on his phone and the attorney general’s office discovered 31 videos on his computer.

“It’s very disturbing when you have children involved who are invaded and harmed,” Kelly said.”They are innocent, and an individual takes that innocence away.”

Kelly said his department does not have any evidence that Ballard has shared these videos at this time, but added they are continuing to investigate the case.

Ballard is expected to be arraigned later this week.

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