Friends and co-workers of a …49-year-old lifeguard in one of the “Athens Riviera’s” best-known beach clubs continued to express shock this week after learning that the man was arrested for clandestinely videotaping nude children and for possession of hardcore child porn.

The suspect, Ioannis Douros – aka “Junior” – was arrested on charges of possessing child pornography and violating laws concerning personal data – i.e. not being videotaped while undressing or in the bathroom!

“Junior”, as he was known at the Vouliagmeni beach club, was described as fond of sports, tanning, feeding seagulls and caring for strays. According to reports, in fact, his record as a lifeguard at Vouliagmeni over the past 10 years was spotless.

The first shock came with his arrest on Saturday. Police were led to Douros when security guards found an unattended knapsack in beach club. Inside was a video camera that was full of files containing child porn, allegedly showing very young minors engaged in what authorities claimed were “hardcore sex scenes”. Besides the video camera, police found a high-powered pair of binoculars with another cam attached. In some of the files, the minors spoke Greek, while other photo files showed nude children on the same beach.

“We are all shocked, it’s like we’ve fallen from the clouds. I’ve known him 25 years; I’ve worked with him for five, six years; we’ve rescued people, he’d guard the beach even at night. In terms of his duties, he was proper,” a former co-worker told protothema.gr.

Other staff said the 49-year-old was often seen with a video camera shooting seagulls and the sea.

Another co-worker said she briefly spoke with Douros after his arrest, saying she directly asked him what happened. “He responded by saying that ‘I swear to you, I never touched a child’. He was shattered, we did not talk much,” the woman said.

A search of the suspect’s home turned up another 165 discs and three external hard drives also loaded with kiddie porn, according to police.