Tennessee deacon charged after wife finds videos of babysitter in bathroom on his phone
HIXSON, Tenn. (WTVC) — A Hixson wife's suspicion that her husband was cheating led her to discover a secretly-recorded video of a teenage babysitter in their home's bathroom, according to court documents.
Now, 42-year-old Christopher Thomas Collins, who up until his arrest Wednesday was a deacon at Abba's House in Hixson, is in custody and facing several charges.
A police affidavit says this started when Collins had his wife hold his phone while he was undergoing a medical procedure.
The affidavit says Collins's wife, who suspected Collins was unfaithful, opened his phone looking for evidence of his infidelity.
Instead, investigators say, she found explicit videos and a photo of their former babysitter inside a hidden folder in the photo gallery.
The woman told deputies that the videos appeared to come from small cameras placed inside a downstairs bathroom at Collins’s home in Hixson.
In at least one video, the teenage girl appeared to notice the camera while undressing and using the shower and toilet.
Investigators said the camera angle appeared fixed and positioned across from the shower and toilet. The woman says Collins told her initially that he installed the camera to look for rats.
The woman told investigators she first deleted the files, then later took screenshots from the “recently deleted” folder to document what she had found.
The woman said she then sought guidance from her church, Abba's House in Hixson. Those staff members encouraged her to get in touch with the police. Officers arrived to interview the woman shortly afterward.
Because of concerns that evidence could be destroyed, the report says patrol units were sent to find Collins.
Deputies stopped Collins's vehicle on Hixson Pike and detained him. They seized his cell phone, and investigators say he later gave consent to search both the phone and the residence.
During a search of Collins’s home, investigators obtained two SD cards from small cameras and an older cell phone.
One camera had been placed near the water heater in the bathroom and aimed toward the shower and toilet, according to the affidavit.
During an interview, the report says Collins admitted knowing about the cameras in the bathroom and using a mobile app to view images from the camera on his phone.
The report also says Collins admitted seeing a nude image captured by the bathroom camera and keeping it for a period of time before deleting it.
A forensic exam of the phone found nine video files from concealed bathroom cameras. Investigators said the videos show a girl entering and exiting the shower, using the toilet, and changing clothes. The videos were time-stamped in 2025.
Investigators said the recordings were made without the girl's knowledge or consent and in a place where she had a reasonable expectation of privacy.
That means, authorities say, that the files meet the legal definition of child sexual abuse material.
Collins is now charged with nine counts of especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor.
A spokesman for Abba's House told us on Thursday that Collins was stripped of his church deacon title upon his arrest.
The church says they are praying for everyone involved in this case. Later in the morning, the church released this statement:
Through the course of a marriage counseling session, Chris Collins’ wife revealed that she had found videos on her husband’s phone of a minor. We immediately reported it to the police and they are handling the situation. We are caring for his wife and kids during this tragic time. Chris Collins had been a member of the church for four years and served as a deacon. He has been removed from that role.
Depend on us to bring you updates on this developing story throughout the day.
