MADISON, Wis. (WTVO) — David M. Krutchen, a former Madison, Wisconsin high school teacher previously convicted of secretly filming students in their hotel rooms during a school trip, was sentenced to twelve years in federal prison today by U.S. District Judge James Peterson.

According to the U.S. Justice Department, during a school trip to Minneapolis on December 6, 2019, in which the students were accompanied by Krutchen, a student discovered a hidden surveillance camera inside an air freshener in the hotel bathroom.

Upon discovery of the device, other students began searching their rooms and found several more surveillance devices hidden throughout them. They handed the devices to Krutchen, trusting him.

Krutchen was seen later that night on hotel security video disposing of the devices in hotel garbage cans and lied that he had given them to a security guard when questioned by authorities.

A subsequent investigation, aided by various photos and videos provided by students, revealed similar devices in hotel rooms on previous trips.

It was later discovered that Krutchen had reserved a suite at the Kalahari Resort in Wisconsin Dells on his personal credit card for trips in 2018 and 2019. He also decided which students stayed in the upgraded room. Photos and videos later revealed recording devices in every bathroom of the suite, in addition to the bathroom of a suite at another resort he had rented for a babysitter.

In a press release, the DOJ said Judge Peterson found Krutchen engaged in “sustained and masterful” manipulation and exploited his status as a beloved teacher. The judge also found the defendant dishonest or downright self-deluded in his denials of the crime being sexually motivated.