A West Virginia high school principal is behind bars after investigators found four hidden recording devices in areas where female students changed clothes.

Brooke High School Principal Eric Michael James, 53, was arrested Thursday. Brooke County Sheriff Richard Beatty says footage recovered from one device showed James putting it in place and adjusting the camera angle.

A school locker room should be a place where children can count on privacy. The allegations now facing the man entrusted with running this school are a parent’s nightmare.

WTRF’s report describes the charges and the investigation into devices found in the girls’ facilities:

WV MetroNews detailed the discovery that brought investigators to the school:

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Beatty said a custodian picked up what appeared to be an ink pen and put it in his pocket. After taking it home, the employee examined it more closely, realized it was a recording device and brought it to the sheriff’s office.

The resulting investigation uncovered four devices: two in a room used by the dance team, one in the girls’ varsity locker room and one in the girls’ physical education locker room. The sheriff said the first device contained footage of James setting it down and adjusting its angle.

Investigators also searched James’ office, his school phone and his Marshall County home, with electronics sent to the state crime laboratory in Morgantown.

Beatty said the number of affected students and the length of time the cameras had been operating were still unknown.

Those unanswered questions matter enormously to the families. Finding the devices ends one immediate threat, but it does not tell a student whether she was recorded or what happened to a recording.

WTOV9 obtained the criminal complaint and reported additional allegations about James’ involvement:

According to the complaint, deputies began investigating on September 2 and obtained a search warrant to examine a camera’s memory card. A deputy stopped viewing one recording after seeing a student changing, while another allegedly showed James looking into the pen-shaped camera and putting it on the ground.

The complaint alleges James admitted placing the camera in the changing area and told a deputy he had put four devices there. Investigators also recovered a device resembling a key fob and a USB-charger-style device as they searched the rooms, according to the station’s account.

James was booked into Northern Regional Jail on a $100,000 cash-only bond after his arrest Thursday. The reported charges involve unlawful interception of communications and unlawful entry into a nonresidential space.

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These are criminal allegations, not a conviction, and James is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

The response has reached beyond the school administration. Community members gathered outside Brooke High after the charges became public:

The Weirton Daily Times reported what county officials told families about safety and the next steps:

Superintendent Jeffrey Crook said James had been suspended pending the investigation, and authorities searched the school’s restrooms and facilities near the stadium. State police brought equipment to scan for concealed electronic devices, while the sheriff said checks also extended to the district’s primary and intermediate schools.

Officials met with parents and students Thursday to discuss the investigation and their concerns about what had happened inside the school. Beatty said investigators would work to notify victims once the forensic examination returned enough information to identify them.

Prosecutor Allison Cowden said additional charges were possible as the investigation continued, while Crook said the district was cooperating with law enforcement. Officials said that if James posts bond, he will be placed on home confinement with electronic monitoring.

James had served as Brooke High’s principal since June 2023. Crook described students as feeling betrayed.

A separate civil case is now taking shape, too. WTRF reported Friday that a class-action lawsuit had been filed over the alleged hidden cameras:

Parents deserve a full accounting of how the devices got into these rooms, how long they remained there and who may have had access to anything they recorded.

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Above all, the students deserve support and privacy while investigators do their work. Their identities should not become another casualty of this case.

This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport. View the original article here.

 

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