Laine Hardy of 'American Idol' arrested on charges of secretly recording ex-girlfriend

A woman and her roommate found a recording device inside their dormitory and reported it to police on April 7

Laine Hardy with US television personality Paula Dean. Photo: Instagram @thelainehardy

Laine Hardy was arrested by Louisiana State University Police on Friday and booked into East Baton Rouge Parish Prison. Photo: Instagram @thelainehardy

Laine Hardy won season 17 of 'American Idol'. Photo: Instagram @thelainehardy

Laine Hardy backstage at the Grande Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee. Photo: Instagram @thelainehardy

Laine Hardy won 'American Idol', season 17. Photo: Instagram @thelainehardy

Laine was arrested on Friday after being accused of putting a listening device in his ex-girlfriend’s college dorm room at Louisiana State University. AP

American Idol winner Laine Hardy was arrested on Friday after being accused of placing a listening device in his ex-girlfriend's college dormitory, authorities said.

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

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

The arrest warrant said that a woman and her roommate had found a recording device inside their dormitory room on April 6. The following day, they reported it to LSU Police.

The woman told police she had found the device, which looked like a phone charger, under her futon, the warrant stated.

She told officers that she believed her ex-boyfriend, Hardy, had left the device in her room earlier because he appeared to know details about what was going on in her life even though she hadn’t told him about them.

Police said they later found evidence of secret recordings made over 10 days in February, the warrant said.

“The victim advised she immediately confronted him, to which he admitted to her that he left a ‘bug’ in her room but discarded it in his pond,” a police affidavit said.

Hardy, who won season 17 of the televised talent show American Idol in 2019, told his nearly 750,000 followers about the investigation in a Facebook post on Thursday.

“I understand that my career has thrust me into the public spotlight, and I embrace that wholeheartedly as my entire world belongs to my music and my fans,” he said.

“However, due to the sensitive nature of this allegation, I humbly ask for privacy at this time. I have the utmost respect for the law and will assist in their investigation as needed moving forward.”

Agencies contributed to this report