Former Mendocino County prison guard back in jail after child porn conviction

A former prison guard from Rohnert Park who served a six-month jail term for filming a teenage family member with hidden cameras in her bedroom and bathroom is back in custody.

Todd Morrow, 45, is being held without bail after his arrest last week for an alleged probation violation.

Morrow is accused of violating his release conditions by posting on Facebook, said Chief Deputy District Attorney Brian Staebell. Detectives are looking into other possible violations, he said.

Morrow, who appeared in court in a blue jail uniform, denied the allegations. A hearing is set for Nov. 12.

The former California Department of Corrections guard was sentenced in March to six months in jail after pleading no contest to child pornography and peeping charges.

A probation report described an elaborate surveillance system that he installed, including a “pinhole” camera in a TV cabinet in the victim’s bedroom. Wires were discovered running to a computer router mounted on the garage ceiling, the report said.

A cellphone camera believed to have been used in the bathroom was also found in the garage, along with three other pinhole cameras and a radio receiver, the report said.

Additional holes were located on the girl’s bedroom wall and under a smoke detector that had been modified to accept a camera, the report said.

Detectives searched the equipment and found more than 8,000 images apparently taken by a surveillance camera, including pictures of the girl without a shirt on and of her drying off after a shower, the report said.

Morrow told probation officials he had a longtime porn addiction that ruined two marriages. He said he decided to film the girl after seeing her partially undressed when she showed his wife a sunburn.

You can reach Staff Writer Paul Payne at 568-5312 or paul.payne@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @ppayne.