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Laine Hardy accused of bugging ex-girlfriend's dorm room; 'American Idol' star arrested Friday

2 years 6 months 3 weeks ago Thursday, April 28 2022 Apr 28, 2022 April 28, 2022 11:00 PM April 28, 2022 in Crime
Source: WBRZ

BATON ROUGE - "American Idol" star Laine Hardy spent hours in jail Friday after he was booked for allegedly bugging his ex-girlfriend's LSU dorm room. 

He was released on a $5,000 bond shortly before 6 p.m. that same day.

A warrant was filed for the 21-year-old musician after the victim found a recording device under her bed at Azalea Hall back in February. She told police the device first appeared to be a phone charger, but she realized it was an audio recorder after looking it up online.

Investigators found several recordings on the device dating back as far as Feb. 10, including some where they could hear Hardy's "very distinguishable" voice. Some of the recordings were taken after the two had broken up in February, according to arrest documents.

The pair dated for about four months, police noted in Hardy's arrest warrant.

The victim told police she first confronted Hardy because he knew a suspicious amount of detail about what she did during her Christmas break. Hardy allegedly admitted to planting a "bug" but claimed he disposed of it in his pond. The victim also provided police a screenshot of a text conversation where he admitted to leaving the device in her dorm. 

On the device given to police, investigators found audio files containing the victim's private conversations, including one where she discussed the break-up.

The warrant also suggested that Hardy removed the recorder at some point to check it before planting it back in the victim's room. 

Hardy posted a vague statement on social media late Thursday, a day before details of the allegations became public, saying he received the warrant and was "cooperating" with police.

Hardy turned himself in to LSU Police Friday morning and was booked into jail for illegally intercepting communications. 

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