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'Idol' winner Laine Hardy accused of bugging ex's dorm room

Laine Hardy
Posted at 1:53 PM, Apr 29, 2022
and last updated 2022-04-29 15:53:50-04

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — "American Idol" winner Laine Hardy has been arrested after being accused of putting a listening device in his ex-girlfriend's college dorm room.

Louisiana State University spokesman Ernie Ballard said Hardy faces a felony charge of interception and disclosure of wire, electronic or oral communication.

Hardy surrendered to the LSU Police Department on Friday and was booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison.

His attorney confirmed the arrest and told news outlets that he was cooperating with the investigation.

According to an arrest warrant, Hardy's ex-girlfriend accused him of putting a recording device in her dorm room.

The woman said she and her roommate found the listening device under her futon on April 6 and reported it to campus police the following day, the warrant said.

Hardy's ex told LSU police that she thought Hardy planted the device because he knew details about her life that she hadn't told him.

According to the warrant, officers said evidence was later found that secret recordings were obtained over a 10-day period in February.

The woman said she confronted Hardy, who admitted that he did leave a "bug" in her room, but later threw it into his pond, police said.

Hardy faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine if convicted.