By Heather Collins
Zionsville police are investigating the former owner of For the Dogs daycare for allegedly secretly filming a female employee in the bathroom with a cellphone hidden inside of a first aid bag.
Zionsville Police Dept. Capt. Charles White said the Boone County prosecutor is reviewing the case against Ray Bridges, known by many Indianapolis Colts fans as the “tuba guy,” but that charges have not yet been filed. Police conducted a search at For the Dogs Feb. 17 and seized some of Bridges’ electronics.
Former employee Alexis Nelson said another employee discovered the cellphone and called police. She said Bridges admitted to secretly filming an employee and photoshopping the victim’s face onto pornographic images.
Bridges did not respond to an attempt to reach him for comment.
Nelson said the employees often referred to Bridges as their “crazy uncle” and trusted him like family. She said she was devastated to learn about the hidden camera.
“You feel very violated as a woman,” Nelson said. “The most difficult thing was that sense of a loss of safety. For a lot of us that was our sanctuary, our safe place.”
Nelson said all of the employees working at For the Dogs were female. She provided a letter from Bridges given to three of the employees Feb. 17, in which Bridges stated that only one of the employees was targeted.
In the letter, Bridges also stated that he had “a complete moral failure” and was seeking counseling for what he called a “sexual fantasy addiction.”
Nelson has since quit but said many of the employees have returned to For the Dogs, which is under new ownership. Despite the recent incident, Nelson said she thinks For the Dogs, 10617 Zionsville Rd., is a solid business and that the new owners have done a great job.
