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A Maryland high school employee accused of secretly recording female students in a school changing room is facing additional criminal charges after investigators identified eight more alleged victims during an expanded investigation, authorities said.
James Mulhern III, an employee at Walter Johnson High School in Montgomery County, now faces 12 counts of abuse of a minor after investigators said newly recovered videos showed a total of 12 female students in various stages of undress.
According to Montgomery County police, the investigation began after two students discovered a video camera in the control booth of Walter Johnson High School’s theater April 7.
One of the students reviewed the memory card and found videos recorded inside the girls changing room before alerting school administrators.
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James Mulhern III, a Walter Johnson High School employee, faces additional charges after investigators identified eight more alleged victims in a student voyeurism case. (Montgomery County Department of Police)
Police said the footage showed an adult male placing the camera inside the room before leaving. The school’s principal identified the man as Mulhern, a media services technician at the school.
Detectives executed search warrants at the high school and Mulhern’s Clarksburg home, where they recovered items of evidentiary value and seized several electronic devices, according to police.
Authorities said evidence recovered during the investigation led detectives to identify eight additional alleged victims and videos dating back to 2015, expanding the case from the four victims identified when Mulhern was first charged in April.
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Walter Johnson High School in Bethesda, Md., where authorities say employee James Mulhern III is accused of secretly recording female students in a theater changing room. (Google Maps)
Mulhern appeared in court Wednesday on the additional charges. A judge ordered his release on a $100,000 unsecured personal bond with conditions that he stay away from Walter Johnson High School, have no contact with minors and have only supervised contact with his 4-year-old son.
Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy said the newly uncovered evidence heightened prosecutors’ concerns in the case.
An aerial view of Walter Johnson High School in Bethesda, Md., where investigators said James Mulhern III worked as a media services technician. (Google Maps)
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Each count of abuse of a minor carries a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison under Maryland law. If convicted on all 12 counts, Mulhern could face up to 300 years behind bars.
Digital has reached out to the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office for additional comment.
