A Maryland school employee accused of secretly filming students was freed on bond, but a judge won’t let him see his own four year old son alone

James Mulhern III, a former media services technician at Walter Johnson High School in Montgomery County, Maryland, is now facing 12 counts of abuse of a minor after investigators recovered additional video evidence. As reported by Fox News, the new charges follow the discovery of a hidden camera in the school theater’s control booth earlier this year. Mulhern was arrested after school administrators identified him from footage recovered by two students. He has not publicly responded to the charges, and it is not known whether he has entered a plea.

The investigation began on April 7, 2026, when two students discovered a hidden camera inside the theater control booth and found footage recorded inside the girls’ changing room. School administrators reviewed the material and identified the man in the footage as Mulhern. He was arrested on April 15, 2026, after the school district notified police.

Authorities initially identified four alleged victims when the case became public in April. A later review of electronic devices seized from Mulhern’s home in Clarksburg and from the school turned up additional footage dating back to 2015, leading investigators to identify eight more alleged victims and bringing the total to 12.

A judge granted bond but kept Mulhern away from his own son

Mulhern appeared in court Wednesday to face the additional charges, where a judge ordered his release on a $100,000 unsecured personal bond. He is barred from contact with minors and is not allowed on the Walter Johnson High School campus. The judge also ruled that Mulhern can only have supervised contact with his own four year old son.

Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy said the newly uncovered evidence had heightened prosecutors’ concerns about the case. Each count of abuse of a minor carries a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison under Maryland law, meaning Mulhern could face up to 300 years if convicted on all 12 counts. The hearing took place the same week a Planet Fitness billing dispute was drawing separate attention online.

Detectives with the Montgomery County Department of Police Special Victims Investigations Division executed search warrants at the school on Rock Spring Drive and at Mulhern’s residence following the initial report. The searches led to the recovery of electronic devices that investigators say contained the additional footage dating back to 2015. Elsewhere online that same stretch of days, a McDonald’s fries lawsuit filed by a New York woman also drew attention.

As of Wednesday’s hearing, Mulhern remains free on bond under the court’s conditions while the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office continues prosecuting the case, according to the county’s official announcement.