Docs: Chief Used Hidden Cameras in Firehouse Bathrooms

MORGAN COUNTY, Ind. — A former central Indiana fire official has been arrested on a litany of sex crimes, including accusations that he secretly recorded women and children in fire station bathrooms, sexually harassed fellow firefighters and solicited fire victims for sex.

Charles “Charlie” Heflin, 57, of Mooresville, was arrested last week on a Morgan County warrant that charged him with over 50 felony sex crimes. The charges include possession of child sex abuse material, child exploitation and voyeurism, as well as resisting arrest and firearm charges.

Until recently, Heflin served as deputy chief for the Gregg Township Fire Department. While officials acknowledged that most of the accusations occurred while Heflin was employed with GTFD, they said he was never working under what the department calls its “new administration.”

Over 30 pages of court records were made public on Tuesday that detail accusations made against Heflin. Alleged victims include fellow firefighters, juvenile interns, uninvolved citizens, women who had sex with Heflin and more. Below is a summary of those accusations:

Harassing, recording fellow firefighters

The accusations made by fellow GTFD firefighters occurred while Heflin was serving as deputy chief. During this time, he had reportedly moved his family into a portion of the firehouse that had a private bedroom and bathroom. The accusations include:

• Moving his family into the firehouse, living and having sex there without approval
• Sexually harassing firefighters by asking them to marry him, join his swinger lifestyle
• Using hidden cameras to record firefighters in the firehouse showers and bedrooms
• Showing fellow firefighters videos of his sexual exploits
• Asking other firefighters to take naps and sleep with him and his girlfriend
• Using spare keys to walk into private bedrooms, grope women, and pleasure himself
• Encouraging firefighters to shower in his private bathroom, which was rigged with cameras
• Attempting to join other firefighters in the shower or in private bedroom activities
• Asking employees about their body measurements and inquiring about their sex lives
• Texting his girlfriend about plans to have firefighters join them in sex
• Scheming as to when and where to place cameras to capture “good footage”
• Having to move EMS classes to different facilities because of Heflin’s harassment

Police allege that Heflin and his girlfriend, identified as co-defendant Angela VanMatre, used cameras disguised as clocks, smoke detectors, phone chargers and water bottles to conduct these secret recordings.

Hiring, harassing and recording underage employees

Court documents detail how Heflin allegedly hired underage female employees as cadets and interns at GTFD, despite the department having no such programs.

During this time, Heflin and VanMatre are accused of harassing juveniles who were training at the firehouse. Reported incidents include:

• Repeatedly filming underage interns in the shower with hidden clock cameras
• Encouraging underage employees to spend the night at the station, despite protocol strictly forbidding it
• Placing hidden cameras inside juvenile bedrooms
• Telling juveniles they should invite other teenage friends to join them at the station
• Heflin texting a 17-year-old deputy that he wanted to “sniff her a**”
• Heflin texting VanMatre “Oh my, she’s legal in 4.5 hours…” in reference to one cadet

Police allege that Heflin and VanMatre constantly texted each other new schemes and ways they could attempt to get juvenile cadets to join in their sexual exploits.

One specific allegation is that VanMatre promised a teenage girl she would be safe showering in their private bathroom, then secretly recorded the juvenile.

Stealing victim information, sexual solicitations

Heflin’s alleged abuse of power stretched far beyond his reported firehouse crimes. In addition to fellow firefighters, court documents say Heflin harassed several victims involved in fires or domestic battery incidents. These allegations include:

• Stealing victims’ private contact information from 911 forms
• Going to victims’ homes after emergencies, bringing them flowers and offering massages
• Using victim contact information to call and solicit them for sexual favors
• Offering to make domestic violence victims “feel better” and “get to feeling good”
• Continuously harassing fire/emergency victims on social media, over the phone

In one specific incident, a domestic violence victim said Heflin showed up at her door after her partner was arrested. The deputy chief reportedly began offering sexual favors to the woman and shaking his tongue at her, despite her still having two black eyes from the domestic abuse.

Accusations outside of the firehouse

Heflin and VanMatre are accused of committing sexual crimes in their personal lives as well. These allegations include:

• Recording women who were renting bedrooms from Heflin
• Recording young children changing in bedrooms, bathrooms
• Using hidden cameras to livestream sexual encounters to each other
• Downloading various child sex abuse materials from the internet
• Heflin being the “peeping Tom of his neighborhood” by looking in people’s windows
• Heflin previously being arrested for child pornography possession in Illinois

During the investigation, police interviewed people that Heflin had previously lived and worked in Illinois. They alleged that Heflin had always been creepy toward women and that he had been fired or let go from several fire stations before moving to Indiana.

‘Corrupted’: Accusations against VanMatre

VanMatre, the deputy chief’s reported girlfriend, initially denied any involvement when confronted by police. However, investigators allege that she was aware of Heflin’s actions and willingly participated by:

• Encouraging the women of the station to shower in her bathroom
• Conspiring with Heflin on where to place hidden cameras
• Sending links to “better” hidden cameras that capture audio to help avoid getting caught
• Offering to have sex with other firefighters/encouraging them to join the swinger lifestyle
• Watching, downloading and sharing the videos captured on the hidden cameras

During another interview with police, VanMatre reportedly admitted to being “corrupted” by Heflin.

She is quoted as saying she participated in his sex crimes to keep her family together.

‘I cannot go to jail’: Warrants, arrests

While searching Heflin and VanMatre’s homes in Mooresville, police reportedly found at least five discreet recording devices, 50+ USB drives, at least eight laptops and cell phones, several storage bays, three computer hard drives, three tablets and other electronics.

On those devices, they allegedly found ample evidence that showed Heflin and VanMatre had recorded many people without their permission. Court documents also detail how various child sex abuse materials were found downloaded from the internet.

The charges against Heflin were filed on Thursday, June 4, in Morgan County court, and a warrant was served the next day. Court documents detail how last Friday, June 5, officers went to two Mooresville homes in an attempt to arrest both Heflin and his girlfriend on felony warrants.

After officers arrived at his home, Heflin reportedly said “I cannot go to jail” several times and then reached for a handgun. Police said they were then forced to tackle Heflin after he allegedly pointed the gun towards officers.

Court documents state Heflin said, “Just give me one bullet,” and expressed a desire to kill himself instead of being arrested.

Charges filed, bond set

Heflin was later detained and booked into jail on his initial warrant charges, which are:

• Child exploitation – Level 4 Felony
• Possession of child sex abuse material – Level 6 Felony
  • 8 counts
• Voyeurism – Level 6 Felony
  • 46 counts

Heflin now also faces three counts of resisting arrest and illegal handgun possession for the alleged incidents during his arrest. He also faces an invasion of privacy charge related to violating a protection order filed by one of the women Heflin allegedly recorded.

Meanwhile, VanMatre was also arrested during the ordeal and booked into Morgan County Jail on the following charges:

• Conspiracy to commit child exploitation – Level 4 Felony
• Conspiracy to commit voyeurism – Level 6 Felony
• Aiding, inducing or causing voyeurism – Level 6 Felony
  • 2 counts
• Voyeurism – Level 6 Felony

During an initial hearing held on Monday afternoon, bond for Heflin was set at $250,000 surety plus $50,000 cash in one case and $10,000 surety plus $1,200 cash in the other. His next pre-trial hearing is set for Aug. 10, and a jury trial is scheduled to begin on Oct. 27.

Bond in VanMatre’s case has been set at $10,000 surety plus $600 cash. Court records have not yet been updated to reflect future hearings in her case.

Previous department issues, GTFD response

The Gregg Township Fire Department began undergoing administrative changes earlier this year after allegations against Heflin and another official initially came to light.

In February 2026, former Gregg Township Fire Chief Roger Kemp was also arrested on a similar charge of child pornography possession. It was alleged at the time that Kemp had secretly recorded himself molesting a child and then kept the images hidden for decades.

However, it is currently unclear whether Heflin and Kemp’s cases share any connections.

In a statement posted Friday night, the Gregg Township Fire Department’s leadership acknowledged the arrests of Heflin and Kemp:

“While Charles Heflin did serve as Deputy Chief of the previous organization, he has not been a part of the current Gregg Township Fire Department, which was recently formed under new leadership. He has had no role or affiliation with this administration at any time.

We acknowledge that some of the charges stem from incidents that occurred during his tenure as Deputy Chief of the former entity. We want the public to know that the current leadership has worked diligently to assist investigators in any manner possible throughout this process. We remain fully committed to transparency and cooperation with law enforcement.

The alleged actions of the former Fire Chief Kemp and now new charges against former Deputy Chief Heflin do not in any way reflect the values, beliefs, or standards of the new administration or this department. We ask for the public’s understanding and patience as we continue to work tirelessly to rebuild the trust this community deserves.“

– Gregg Township Fire Department leadership

Online court records show a jury trial in Kemp’s case is now scheduled to begin on Sept. 8 in Bartholomew Circuit Court. Judge Kelly Benjamin will be presiding.

Docs: Chief Used Hidden Cameras in Firehouse Bathrooms was originally published on wibc.com