Students called West Virginia high school principal a father figure they trusted. He’s now accused of placing secret cameras in the girls’ locker room

Authorities in West Virginia say a high school principal was taken into custody after hidden recording devices turned up in locker rooms used by female students. Eric James, 53, leads Brooke High School in Wellsburg, a community about 45 minutes west of Pittsburgh.

According to the Daily Mail, court records list two charges filed Thursday: one count of intentionally intercepting or attempting to intercept wire, oral, or electronic communication, and one count of breaking and entering a non-residence. James is a father of three.

County jail logs show he was booked into the Northern Regional Jail on a $100,000 bond and has remained in custody. The district said an employee discovered the devices and that James has been suspended while investigators continue their work.

Video on a recovered device showed the principal placing a camera, sheriff says

Sheriff Richard Beatty told reporters that video on the first recovered device, described as pen-like, showed James putting it in place. “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,” Beatty said.

A criminal complaint obtained by local Fox affiliate WTOV stated that another file on the devices showed a high school student changing clothes. A security guard found one of the recorders and notified the sheriff’s office, prompting the investigation.

Search warrants were later obtained for James’s home. The complaint stated that James admitted to placing the devices in locker and changing rooms. Investigators said four recorders were found in separate spaces used by female students, including a dance team changing room, a physical education locker room, and a varsity athletes’ locker room.

Beatty said the charges so far are preliminary and that James has not been charged with child pornography. “It is a sensitive investigation. That is why we haven’t made public comment prior (to the news conference). We didn’t want to jeopardize where we were at currently in this investigation,” the sheriff said.

Prosecuting Attorney Allison Cowden said James violated a wiretapping statute and entered a school area with the intent to commit a crime. She added that additional charges remain possible. “At this initial point in the investigation, which is essentially a little over 24 hours out, these were the charges that we could come up with to make sure that we could get him charged and get him off the streets,” Cowden said.

Superintendent Jeffrey Crook told reporters that students felt “betrayed,” adding, “We all feel a little bit betrayed.” Beatty said other campuses in the district were checked and described as safe. The recordings were sent to a crime lab. Officials said they believe the devices had been in place only since the start of the school year, pending lab confirmation of the timestamps.

The district said student safety, security, and privacy are core duties and that conduct undermining those duties will not be tolerated. James has been principal at Brooke High School since 2023 and has also worked as a football coach, athletic director, and physical education teacher, according to his LinkedIn profile.

The Switzerland of Ohio Local School District, where James previously worked, said it learned of the allegations, swept its buildings, and reviewed his personnel file, finding no earlier complaints or suspicious devices. Such cases of alleged educator misconduct have surfaced elsewhere, like when a Georgia high school teacher was arrested and court warrants unsealed allegations involving Fifty Shades of Grey. 

Three civil lawsuits and a class action have been filed since the arrest, including two by “Jane Does” and one by parents. Court records show the Brooke County Board of Education was named in two of those complaints.

A high school senior wrote on Facebook that the arrest left him “shocked” and “confused.” The accusations against the principal are part of a broader pattern of school employees accused of secretly filming students.  

“Mr. James was someone I looked up to. Someone I believed was there to protect us, guide us, and make sure we were okay. I recently even told him that I saw him as a father figure because of how much I respected him and trusted him. I genuinely believed he was someone who would always do the right thing,” the student wrote. Another student commented, “I’m also very Broken right now too. I put a lot of trust into Mr James and looked up to him.”