Youth Pastor in Pensacola, Florida, Charged With Video Voyeurism After Teen Finds Hidden Camera in Church Restroom

Investigators in Pensacola, Florida, have charged David Patrick Nims, 37, a youth pastor at Calvary Baptist Church, in connection with a hidden camera found in a church restroom. One report describes Nims as a volunteer director of youth ministries at the church, while others identify him as a youth pastor. According to the reports, a teenage boy found a hidden surveillance camera pointed at him in the church bathroom. He disposed of the device before telling his youth pastor. Officers from the Escambia County Sheriff’s Department responded to the church after the report.

Investigators from the sheriff’s Special Victims Unit (ECSO) identified Nims as the suspect, according to the reports. One account states that surveillance footage showed a face and clothing believed to be Nims. Nims was arrested on a charge of video voyeurism, a second-degree felony under Florida law, and was booked into the Escambia County jail after posting a $10,000 bond. That charge carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, 15 years of sex offender probation, and a $10,000 fine, as reported. A third report describes the penalty as a second-degree felony, but its text is incomplete.

About a week after the initial arrest, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office announced an additional charge of possession of child pornography. Authorities cited the discovery of more than 100 files at Nims’s home, according to one report. The sheriff’s office said that none of the child victims appear to have a local connection and that Nims did not videotape them himself. The files were reportedly downloaded from the internet, and investigators continue to analyze additional digital files. The reports differ on how the video voyeurism count is framed. One describes a charge of video voyeurism by a person 18 or older who is responsible for the welfare of a child younger than 16. Another describes the accusation as involving Nims’s position of responsibility for the welfare of minors. Nims has not been convicted of either charge, and the allegations remain unproven in court.

Protecting the vulnerable is the concern at the center of the teen’s decision to report what he found (Mark 9:42). Calvary Baptist Church Pastor Walt Magaha said the church is cooperating fully with law enforcement.