Brooke High principal arrested after discovery of cameras in girls’ locker rooms

WELLSBURG -- The principal of Brooke High School is facing two felony charges following the discovery of multiple cameras in girls locker room areas at the school.

Eric Michael James, 53, is being held in the West Virginia Northern Regional Jail on $100,000 cash bond, facing charges including intentionally intercepting or attempting to intercept wire, oral or electronic communication and breaking and entering a nonresidence.

Brooke County officials held a press conference in the school library Thursday afternoon, where they confirmed James' arrest was related to the alleged placement of cameras in multiple girls locker room areas at the high school.

"Four devices were found in a locker room area, female locker room area, a separate female locker room area, and a separate female dressing room area," Brooke County Sheriff Rich Beatty said. "Those devices were confiscated. Search warrants were conducted, electronics were seized, both from here at school and from the home of Principal Eric James in Marshall County."

Brooke County Schools Superintendent Jeffrey Crook indicated the areas targeted included the girls physical education locker room, the girls varsity locker room and a locker room used by the school's dance team. Earlier Thursday, the school district released a statement confirming James' employment with the district had been suspended pending the results of the investigation.

Beatty said his department received information about the allegations at approximately 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, with deputies and West Virginia State Police responding to the high school to begin their investigation just before 4 p.m. after students had been dismissed for the day.

James was detained and held on school property while the search was conducted, Beatty said. He added that items seized as part of the investigation are currently at the West Virginia State Police forensics lab in Morgantown. Officials there will work to retrieve any data relevant to the investigation.

"Once we have that information back, we will attempt to make notification of all the victims involved," Beatty said.

Brooke County Prosecuting Attorney Allison Cowden explained the charges James currently is facing.

"The first felony is a violation of the state wiretapping statute," Cowden explained. "The second charge that he was charged with was actually entering without breaking, basically that he entered an area here in the school with the intent to commit a crime."

Cowden noted there is the potential for additional misdemeanor charges to be filed as the investigation continues.

"These were the charges that we could come up with to make sure that we could, basically, get him charged and get him off the streets and provide some satisfaction and sense of safety for the children at Brooke High School," she said.

Crook offered his appreciation to the Brooke County Sheriff's Department and the West Virginia State Police for their response, reiterating that the school district is fully cooperating with the investigation.

"They conducted and did a clean sweep of all the restrooms within the school," Crook said. "They did a sweep of all the restrooms down by the stadium area. Every restroom in this building has been cleared."

In addition, the West Virginia State Police brought in equipment Thursday to conduct additional scans for any other possible hidden electronic devices.

"Our main priority is our kids," Crook said. "The kids feel betrayed. I think we all feel a little bit betrayed by this. We are fully cooperating with law enforcement, and we will continue to cooperate to make sure there is justice for this incident that unfortunately occurred."

Beatty said, while James did not necessarily have access, scans also were conducted at the school district's primary and intermediate-level schools.

"We wanted to clear those schools and be sure they were safe as well," Beatty said. "They are safe."

School officials also held a meeting with parents and students at the high school Thursday to discuss the investigation.

Beatty noted that, if James posts bond, he will be placed on home confinement with electronic monitoring.

James has been principal at Brooke High School since June 2023. Prior to coming to Brooke County, he had been the principal at River Elementary/Middle School in Hannibal, Ohio, a physical education and health teacher at Cameron High School and the athletic director at Bishop Donahue Memorial High School. According to his LinkedIn profile, he holds a bachelor's degree from West Liberty University and a master's degree from Northcentral University.

There were no court hearings scheduled as of Thursday evening.

Brooke High School will operate as a non-traditional instruction day for students today. All staff will be on campus for students who wish to attend school or access supportive services.