Ex-Durham school worker who faces secret peeping, indecent liberties charges also worked at NC museum camps

Durham police have charged Nathan Stuart Elder, 44, with 33 counts of possession of images obtained in violation of secretly peeping while using a photographic device. Hillsborough police have changed Elder with seven counts each of indecent liberties with a minor and possession of images obtained in violation of secretly peeping while using a photographic device.

Durham police searched Elder's computers and found images that investigators said violated North Carolina's secret peeping laws.

Investigators said they identified pictures involving possible crimes committed in Wake and Orange counties, as well as the areas of Mobile, Ala., Phoenix and Oakland, Calif. Durham police said they are working with law enforcement agencies in those jurisdictions to contact the families of the children depicted and pursue charges.

"None of the charges filed to date involve MSD children," Tammy Squires, head of the Montessori School of Durham, told WRAL News in an email.

"However, since learning of Elder’s arrest in Arizona, we have worked closely with law enforcement authorities, communicated directly with our families, provided resources and information to parents about how to talk to their children and undertaken a review of our current policies and procedures," Squires said. "The Montessori School of Durham prioritizes the safety and welfare of all of our students."

State officials have notified families Tuesday that Elder previously worked at summer camps and other programs run by the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. None of the charges he faces stem from activities at the museum, they said, and the museum has received no complaints about him or allegations of inappropriate conduct.

Elder worked for Play-Well TEKnologies, a contractor of the Friends of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences for the museum's summer camp programming. He worked at building block-themed camps last summer and at two museum events open to the public in Raleigh in 2017 and 2018, officials said.

Before participating in 2018 summer programs, Elder was cleared by local and national background checks, officials said.

He served as a contract instructor or contract assistant to the instructor at the following museum programs:

He also participated in two large-scale public science events at the museum where Play-Well TEKnologies was a vendor: Triangle SciTech Expo 2017 on April 8, 2017, and Triangle SciTech Expo 2018 on April 28, 2018.

"The safety of children in our programs is our greatest concern," Reid Wilson, chief deputy secretary for the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, which oversees the museum, said in a statement. "We want all parents whose children attended these camps and all museum visitors who participated in these events to be informed and know that we take this matter very seriously."

The Museum of Natural Sciences is offering a free discussion with Amy Tiemann at 5:30 p.m. April 2 to help adults address the issues of child safety and child abuse.

Anyone with information about Elder's activities may contact the Durham Police Department at 919-560-4440, extension 29349, or Crime Stoppers at 919-683-1200.