Former Boy Scout volunteer sentenced to 22 years in prison for hiding cameras in camp bathrooms

ST. LOUIS — A former Boy Scout volunteer has been sentenced to 22 years in prison for hiding cameras in a bathroom at a Missouri camp.

A federal judge Thursday also ordered David Lee Nelson, a 41-year-old from Redmond, Washington, to pay more than $60,000, with some of the money going toward counseling for the victims. Some of them described at the hearing being fearful and unable to trust because of what happened.

The U.S. attorney’s office said Nelson placed the cameras in paper towel dispensers in July 2021, positioning them so they would capture a shower stall and other parts of the bathroom at the S Bar F Scout Ranch in St. Francois County.

The camp is about 58 miles northwest of Cape Girardeau.

Scouts were cleaning restroom stalls with a leader when one of the cameras was discovered. A search ensued, and another camera was found. Leaders then called law enforcement.

Nelson pleaded guilty in January to two counts of producing child sexual abuse images and two counts of attempted production of child sexual abuse images.

Once released from prison, he will be on supervised release for life, the U.S. attorney’s office said.