A Brooke High School custodian who found a pen sitting somewhere it shouldn't have been set off a chain of events that ended with the school's principal in jail and facing felony charges. The custodian pocketed the pen, took it home to look it over, and realized it was actually a hidden camera. He handed it over to the Brooke County Sheriff's Office on September 2, a decision that cracked open what investigators now describe as a months-long pattern of covert surveillance inside girls' locker rooms and dressing areas at the Wellsburg school.
Sheriff Richard Beatty said footage recovered from that pen camera showed Principal Eric James himself setting up the device and adjusting its angle, with the opening frame capturing a female student, according to WV MetroNews. That discovery triggered a broader search of the campus, and law enforcement ultimately recovered four recording devices in total: two hidden in a dance team changing room, one in the girls' varsity athletic locker room, and one in the girls' physical education locker room, per the Times Leader.
How the Investigation Moved So Fast
Investigators received the initial tip at 1:30 p.m. on September 2, and officers arrived on campus around 4 p.m., after student dismissal, to detain James and begin executing search warrants, the Times Leader's report notes. Deputies from the Brooke County Sheriff's Office worked alongside West Virginia State Police during the search, which expanded once the first camera was handed over. Electronic devices seized from the high school campus and from James' residence in Marshall County were sent to the West Virginia State Police Forensics Lab in Morgantown, where a full digital analysis is now underway, according to the same account.
According to the New York Post, James, 53, was charged with two felony counts: intentionally intercepting or attempting to intercept wire, oral, or electronic communications, and breaking and entering a nonresidence. He is being held at the Northern Regional Jail in Marshall County on $100,000 bond, per that report. Under West Virginia Code, both offenses carry penalties of up to five years in prison and $10,000 in fines upon conviction, according to the West Virginia Legislature.
Civil Lawsuits Piling Up Against the District
Beyond the criminal case, the fallout has moved quickly into civil court. At least three lawsuits, including a potential class action filed September 4 by the Fitzsimmons Law Firm, have been brought against James and the Brooke County Board of Education on behalf of affected female students, according to the West Virginia Record. Those suits argue the school district failed in its duty to protect student privacy.
One of the suits, filed September 3 by a student athlete identified as Jane Doe No. 1, alleges James recorded female students while they were nude, showering, and using the restroom, and that he would personally unlock the locker room for her before leaving, per the West Virginia Record's reporting on that filing. The plaintiff is described as a junior student athlete who used the facility daily. Brooke County Schools has said it is conducting its own investigation into the matter and is cooperating with law enforcement, per the New York Post, and the district told staff and families in a memo dated September 3 that it had been informed of a criminal investigation into allegations that a recording device had been placed in a Brooke High School locker room.
A 30-Year Educator's Sudden Fall
James had served as principal of Brooke High School since June 2023 and was starting his 30th year in education, having previously worked as an elementary school principal in Hannibal, Ohio, and held teaching and coaching roles before moving into administration, according to the West Virginia Record. Brooke High School is the only public high school in the Brooke County School District, enrolling roughly 855 students in grades 9 through 12 on a consolidated campus that also houses Brooke Middle School, per Public School Review.
Brooke County Schools has suspended James and said conduct that compromises student safety, security, and privacy will not be tolerated, according to the New York Post's reporting. The district has said it plans to meet with students, parents, and staff to offer supportive measures while investigations continue. School security officers, staff, and law enforcement have since removed the devices from campus, and the digital forensic analysis in Morgantown is expected to determine the full scope of what was recorded and for how long.
