Recently, a former Nevada high school girls' assistant wrestling coach was taken into custody for reportedly capturing video of a young woman in a store dressing room.
On February 24, as stated in an official statement, the Ames Police Department addressed a complaint about someone capturing video footage of a young woman changing clothes inside the dressing rooms at the Ames Target store. According to court papers, the individual reportedly positioned their mobile device’s camera beneath the fitting room door to document the victim secretly and without her permission.
Michael Leslie, aged 45, from Maxwell, was ultimately accused by the Ames Police Department of sexually exploiting a minor and faced three charges of invasion of privacy. This occurred over a month later on April 10th.
Ames authorities indicate that they managed to identify additional adult victims whom Leslie reportedly filmed without permission at Target back in February.
Steve Gray, the Nevada CSD Superintendent, verified with the Ames Tribune that Leslie was an assistant coach for the high school girls' wrestling team. According to Gray, Leslie’s tenure with the district concluded after the end of the 2024-25 wrestling season. He chose not to provide additional comments on this matter.
Leslie became part of Nevada's first female wrestling coaching team in 2022.
Earlier reports from The Tribune indicated that Leslie was brought on board as an assistant for the girls' wrestling team in 2022. When Nevada acquired female wrestlers from Roland-Story, Collins-Maxwell, and Colo-NESCO, it expanded its roster. To establish a new girls' wrestling program. The team is headed by his spouse, Tawnia Leslie. Who guided two wrestlers from Nevada to win individual state championships this year? .
The Cubs claimed two state titles at the 2025 Iowa girls high school state tournament earlier this year. February in Coralville .
Michael Leslie led the Collins-Maxwell High School boys wrestling team for seven years, beginning his tenure in 2015.
Allegedly, cell phone data reveals pictures of minor girls and adult women.
According to criminal complaints, on February 24th, Michael Leslie reportedly tried to take pictures of an underage girl who was either nude or partially dressed inside a fitting room. Upon noticing the camera beneath the door, the young girl challenged him, after which Leslie supposedly fled the premises prior to law enforcement’s arrival.
The data retrieved from Leslie's phone showed an image of a minor on February 24th when she was inside a dressing room with the door shut, as stated in a criminal complaint.
Further information obtained from Leslie's phone showed pictures of grown women in the same store’s fitting room on three separate occasions—February 15th through February 17th—as stated in the criminal filings.
On Friday morning, Leslie remained in custody at the Story County Jail with a bond set at $190,000. According to court papers, his attorney asked for a hearing aimed at reducing the bond so that it would be affordable for him and his relatives. This hearing was scheduled for 11 A.M. on Friday.
Celia Brocker serves as a journalist covering government, crime, politics, and education for the Ames Tribune. You can reach her via email at CBrocker@gannett.com.
The article initially appeared on Ames Tribune. Ex-Nevada girls' wrestling mentor apprehended for reportedly recording a minor in the locker room
