A Carbon County volunteer coach admitted in the county court on Thursday that he attempted to videotape a teenage girl changing clothes in a bathroom in Palmerton Area High School.

Robert Eckhart, 42, of Palmerton, pleaded guilty before President Judge Roger N. Nanovic II to one count each of criminal use of a communication facility, a felony, and invasion of privacy, a misdemeanor.The first count was added to the indictment that was originally filed by state police at Lehighton.In exchange for the plea, charges of photograph/film/depict on computer sex act involving a child and contact by communication with a minor-sexual abuse were dropped.Eckhart at the time of the incident on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2014, was a volunteer football coach and also assisted with weight training.He was charged after attempting to videotape a 17-year-old girl changing clothes in a bathroom at the Palmerton high school in Lower Towamensing Township.According to the arrest report filed by trooper Eric Snyder, Eckhart admitted he had set up a cellphone in the bathroom of the weight room, with the intent to obtain a video of the victim "in various stages of undress." The weight room is open in some off-school hours, including Saturday mornings, to athletes of various sports.Snyder also noted in the arrest warrant that the victim had been contacted numerous times, via text messages, by the defendant "requesting to know the exact time" she was going to arrive at the school that Saturday morning. She was also instructed, according to Snyder, to use a specific bathroom to change into her workout attire.The victim, the police report states, discovered a blue iPhone, with a black case, strategically placed behind the toilet seat, in a unisex bathroom. The cellphone was in the video mode.The student contacted school officials on Feb. 10, who in turn reported the incident to state police.Eckhart did not make any statements Thursday except to answer questions concerning his plea asked by Nanovic.Because the case falls under the provisions of Megan's Law, Eckhart must submit to an evaluation with the state sexual offenders assessment board, which will determine if he is a violent sexual predator. Eckhart, Nanovic said, faces some period of registration as a sexual offender, but that won't be determined until after the state board issues its report.Nanovic also ordered the county adult probation department to prepare a presentence investigation report.Although Eckhart was not sentenced, the victim was given a chance to make a statement to the court. Assistant District Attorney Seth Miller, who is prosecuting the case, said the girl will be going to college in the fall and may not be available the day of sentencing. Nanovic said he would permit the girl to make her statement now, and he will include it in the sentencing proceeding.The victim said Eckhart violated a trust she had placed him in his position. She said she recently had a nightmare in which she thought she was being stalked by a male. She said the entire incident has affected her life and she has a hard time trusting people.Her family was also present at the proceeding.