Sports Photographer Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison Over Hidden Cameras

A professional photographer — who shot sports as well as weddings — has been sentenced to 14 years in prison over multiple hidden camera offenses.

48-year-old photographer Gordon Cordell pleaded guilty to 13 counts involving multiple victims from charges stemming from secret recordings of minors and adults. Cordell took videos or photographs of at least seven minors and six adult women.

Cordell was employed as a sports photographer as well as a girls’ softball coach for two years by the Wilmington School District in Wilmington, Ohio. According to court papers cited in a report by Wilmington-based outlet News Journal, Cordell hid cameras disguised as a Bluetooth speaker and a charger block among other devices in bathrooms or dressing rooms before victims entered. He then later returned to retrieve the hidden camera devices. The photographer also hid a camera in a motel room that captured photos and videos of two minors on the girls’ softball team.

According to News Journal, court papers also detailed how Cordell hid cameras while working as a professional wedding photographer. While working as a photographer at one wedding venue, he hid a camera in a changing room and recorded video of two nude minors and audio of two adult women. At another wedding venue, court records state he used the same method to record video of four adult women while they were partially or fully undressed.

Judge Andrew McCoy sentenced Cordell to 14 years in prison on Friday. Those who were photographed and recorded spoke directly to the Clinton County courtroom about the impact Cordell’s actions had on them.

Judge McCoy describes Cordell’s conduct as “calculated and premeditated” and says victim impact statements demonstrated “extreme mental and psychological harm,” including ongoing paranoia, anxiety, and fear. The judge says the offenses involving minor victims represented “the worst form of the offense,” and that although Cordell had no prior criminal history, his admitted conduct reflected “a long-standing pattern of criminal behavior for which he simply was not caught.”

In a statement following his arrest in August 2025, the Wilmington School District said it “cut all ties with Mr. Cordell as a coach and athletic photographer.”

Last month, an Emmy-winning photojournalist was arrested for allegedly hiding cameras in the dressing room of the Oklahoma City television station where he worked as chief photographer. The incidents come as hidden cameras disguised as everyday objects — such as pens, buttons, or water bottles — that are used to take intimate photos of people without their consent may be made illegal in the U.K.

Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.