West Virginia high school principal charged after recording devices found in girls’ changing area
Warning: This article contains details that people may find distressing.
A high school principle has been arrested and charged after admitting to placing recording devices in a girls' locker room.
Eric James, 53, was the principle at Brooke High School, Wellsburg, West Virginia, before being suspended.
James is said to have admitted to placing four recording devices in total. One was pen-shaped, while another looked like a key fob.
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Reportedly the pen and key fob-looking recording devices were put in the girls' PE locker room and the other two were in a second room where the school's dance team regularly changes clothes.
Now he has been charged with one count of intentionally intercepting electronic communications and two counts of breaking and entering a non-residence, according to the Brooke County Sheriff’s Office.
James is being held at Northern Regional Jail with bond set at $100,000, WDTV reports.
Discussing the the ink pen-like recording device, Brooke County Sheriff Richard Beatty has said, per West Virginia Metro News: "A custodian found the device and it looked like an ink pen. He picked it up, put it in his pocket and didn’t think about it for the rest of the day.
"When he got home, he started to manipulate it and realized it wasn’t a pen, it was a recording device. He brought it down here to the Sheriff’s office and we immediately launched an investigation."
James was quickly identified as a suspect after footage showed him placing the device in one of the rooms.
Beatty shared: "When we opened up that first device, there was actual footage of him setting it in place and adjusting the camera angle to be sure he was getting what he was looking for."
Earlier this week, Beatty, the county Board of Education, and the Brooke County Prosecutor met with parents who were understandably concerned.
"We addressed parents’ concerns, told them where we stand in the investigation, and assured them once the information comes back and we have a chance to review everything, further charges will be forthcoming," Beatty shared.
It's unclear how many female students have been recording on the hidden devices.
It's also unknown how long the devices were there.
Brooke County Schools Superintendent Jeffrey Crook says people, the students especially, feel 'betrayed'.
He said at a press conference on Thursday: "Our main priority is our kids.The kids feel betrayed. I think we all feel a little bit betrayed."
"We are fully cooperating with law enforcement, and we will continue to do that," Crook added.
The investigation into the matter remains ongoing and a preliminary hearing date for James is scheduled for Sept. 14, according to court records.
A class-action civil lawsuit was also announced Friday, says West Virginia Metro News.
Niamh Shackleton