Man accused of recording boys in bathroom pleads guilty

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    OMAHA, Nebraska (WOWT) — A Council Bluffs man accused of secretly recording juvenile boys in the bathroom of his home has made a deal with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Bottom line he won’t be getting out of federal prison anytime soon.

The allegations against Thomas Boatright are disturbing on a number of fronts. The teenage boys were in the United States as part of a foreign exchange program.

The defendant was the coordinator of the program helping line up the students with host families in addition to hosting two boys himself.

Those families put their trust in the program by sending them to the U.S. only to have the experience shattered.

Former real estate agent Thomas Boatright, 51, pleaded guilty this afternoon to four counts of coercion and enticement of a minor.

When he is sentenced, at a minimum he’ll spend 10-years in prison.

There are four victims identified by the feds — all from other countries as they were foreign exchange students.

Two of them lived with Tommy Boatright.

One of the juvenile students told investigators Boatright gave them alcohol to play beer pong and then gave them pills only later did they learn the pills are used to treat erectile dysfunction.

The foreign exchange student then noticed a bathroom phone charger that had a hidden camera in it pointed towards the toilet.

Thomas Boatright hasn’t been out of jail since his arrest a year ago. He’ll be sentenced in June.

At a minimum, he could get 10-years and up to life.

In court, we learned that some of the students who were here in Council Bluffs a year ago have been getting counseling.

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