After Brooke County principal arrest, Sen. Weld says WV needs felony penalty for secretly filming 

After a Brooke County high school principal was arrested and charged for reportedly placing recording devices in girls’ locker rooms, a state senator said the ordeal has exposed a gap in state code regarding punishment for those  covertly filming others.

Sen. Ryan Weld, R-Brooke, said Tuesday that he plans to introduce legislation to make secretly filming children or adults undressing in a place with expected privacy  – like a locker room or bathroom – a felony. 

“You’re a sick person if you’re doing that,” Weld told West Virginia Watch on Tuesday. “I think it should be a felony, whether if it’s an adult or a minor, but should also carry with it registration on the registry. I mean, you are setting up cameras to record video or take photos of someone while they’re changing clothes or going to the bathroom.”

Weld wants individuals who are convicted of this crime to be placed on West Virginia’s sex offender registry “so they’re never in position near children again,” he said. 

Brooke County law enforcement said Eric James, 53, who served as principal of Brooke High School in Wellsburg, allegedly placed pen-shaped recording devices in several changing areas, including the girls’ PE locker room and a room where members of the dance team dress.

A custodian found one of the hidden devices and alerted the local sheriff’s office. 

Under state law, filming children for the purposes of erotica is already a felony. But, Weld believes that filming any minors or adults without their consent for non-erotica should also be treated as a felonious crime. 

“If you film, whether it be minors or adults, in a non-erotic manner, just changing clothes in the locker room, under [State Code] 8-28-a, that is a first offense misdemeanor,” Weld said. 

James was charged Sept. 3 with two separate felony charges of intentionally intercepting electronic communications and two counts of breaking and entering a non-residence.

Brooke County School officials suspended James following his arrest, and an investigation is ongoing. James is being held in the Northern Regional Jail on $100,000 cash-only bail.

A class-action lawsuit has been filed against James and the Brooke County Board of Education on behalf of a Brooke High School student and other female students. 

Weld said his local community is focused on supporting students at this time. 

“(They) have banded together in support of Brooke High School and its students,” Weld said.  

Weld plans to propose the legislation in the 2027 Legislative Session, which will begin in January. 

Earlier this year, Weld led the charge in the Senate to pass an high-profile, anti-child abuse bill known as ‘Raylee’s Law,’ which targets parents facing a child abuse investigation who try to remove their children from public school for homeschooling. 

Weld successfully challenged the Senate President’s ruling on the bill to get it through the Senate, but it didn’t complete legislative action by deadline after chaos erupted in the House of Delegates over the measure into the final minutes of the 2026 session.