Seattle, Washington - A former coach at a Seattle private school was sentenced Tuesday to eight years in federal prison for transportation with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, following a probe by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Jason Christopher Pauer, 45, of Seattle, was arrested by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in December 2013 at Silver Star ski area in British Columbia, Canada. Pauer was taken into custody after female students on a school-sponsored field trip discovered a hidden camera in their bedroom that had been positioned to videotape them as they dressed after showering. 

“This betrayal of trust is every parent’s nightmare,” said U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes.  “I commend the victims, their families and the school who have remained steadfast in the pursuit of justice in this case.”

According to court records in the case, Paur secretly recorded students while on the school ski trips in 2011, 2012, and 2013. The camera seized in Canada contained images of students ages 14 to 17 changing clothes and exiting the shower. Additionally, Paur secretly filmed students changing on a cross country running trip in 2012, and, in 2013, he filmed a student changing in the school’s storage room. Pauer used the pictures for his own sexual gratification and traveled with the students to Canada with that goal in mind.

“We entrust teachers to serve as role models for our children and to safeguard their welfare. When that trust is violated, there will be zero tolerance,” said Brad Bench, special agent in charge for HSI Seattle. “Those who exploit their access to young people to gratify their own perverse sexual desires are on notice that there will be serious consequences for those actions.”

Pauer, who pleaded guilty in November 2015, has been in custody since his arrest in 2013. He was fired by the school, which fully cooperated with the investigation.