Mountain View man accused of secretly recording inside private residence

A Mountain View man already facing child sexual exploitation charges has been arrested again after investigators say they discovered hidden-camera images taken inside a private residence.

Court records show 48-year-old Kris Aaron Copeland was arrested Dec. 20 and is being held on a $75,000 bond. Prosecutors have filed 10 counts of video voyeurism, each a Class D felony under Arkansas law.

According to a probable cause affidavit, Stone County deputies and detectives served an arrest warrant and a search warrant on Copeland on Nov. 3 as part of a months-long investigation into the distribution of child sexual exploitation material. During that search, investigators seized several computers and phones that were later sent for data extraction.

Lt. Jenifer Osborn wrote that while reviewing the extracted data on Dec. 19, she discovered multiple time- and date-stamped images taken inside the residence of a teenage female. The affidavit states the images appear to have been recorded by a camera concealed behind an object inside the home. Ten images have been tagged as evidence so far, and the data review is ongoing.

Authorities noted that while Copeland was out on bond for the earlier child sexual exploitation charges, he lived with a teenager whom investigators believed could be at risk.

Copeland’s Nov. 3 arrest resulted in two counts of distributing, possessing, or viewing matter depicting sexually explicit conduct involving a child, both Class C felonies. His bond in that case was set at $25,000.

Kris Aaron Copeland

Image: Stone County Sheriff’s Office