Bloomingdale Teacher Pleads Guilty To Recording Students Changing

VALRICO, FL — A former Bloomingdale High School Teacher has pled guilty to more than 300 counts of video voyeurism, the Hillsborough County State Attorney's Office said.

Mark Ackett, 52, was hired at Bloomingdale High School in January 2017, according to investigators. He worked as a fashion designer and girls' track coach. Cell phones were used by Ackett to record hundreds of students in a changing area until a student discovered the concealed devices in September 2018, detectives said. He was arrested shortly afterward and resigned from his teaching position.

Ackett entered an open plea of guilty before Judge Laura Ward Thursday afternoon. He admitted responsibility for 323 counts of video voyeurism by a school employee, and one count of video voyeurism of an adult. The counts represent all 125 of Ackett's victims from Bloomingdale High School in Valrico, the State Attorney's Office said. One out of the 125 victims was a teacher, and the rest were students.

Investigators gathered evidence on numerous electronic devices and online accounts he had.

“This plea spares these young women the pain of reliving their victimization during a trial, and it helps them heal," Hillsborough State Attorney Andrew Warren said. "We’ve worked to make sure these victims have access to services and counseling. As the father of two young daughters, I’m not sure what I can say to these young women to bring back what Mark Ackett took away from them—but I can now say, to each of them, we have delivered justice.”

Ackett also pled guilty to 27 counts from an unrelated video voyeurism case not connected to his teaching position, officials said. These charges came from additional instances of video voyeurism that were discovered by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office on devices seized from Ackett. While not connected to the school, 13 of these instances involved victims under the age of 16. Those 13 counts are second degree felonies; the other 14 are third degree felonies, according to the State Attorney's Office.

Following this guilty plea, the State will not pursue any other charges currently pending against Ackett, according to the State Attorney's Office. By giving an open plea to the judge, Ackett accepted full responsibility for the crimes, declined a trial by a jury, and allowed the judge to determine his sentence.

Under the law, Ackett faces a maximum of 15 years in prison for each second degree felony, and up to five years for each third degree felony. The actual sentencing will be determined by the judge, who can also decide whether some or all of the sentences will run concurrently (at the same time) or consecutively (back-to-back).

Judge Laura Ward will hold a sentencing hearing on May 10; victims are able to submit a written Victim Impact Statement to the judge in advance or speak in person about how these crimes have affected their lives.