School Employee Charged After Students Discover Hidden Camera in Theater Area

by Chris Peterson

A Montgomery County Public Schools employee in Maryland has been arrested after police say he secretly recorded underage students inside a girls’ changing room in the theater area of Walter Johnson High School in Bethesda.

James Mulhern III, 43, a media services technician at the school, has been charged with sex abuse of a minor, according to Montgomery County police and multiple local reports.

According to police, the investigation began on April 7th after two students found a video camera in a theater control booth at the school.

One of the students reportedly checked the memory card and found footage that had been recorded inside the girls’ changing room.

James Mulhern III mugshot

Authorities said the video also showed a man placing the camera and leaving before students entered the room to change clothes for a theater performance. School administrators were then notified, and Principal Nicole Morgan identified the employee from the footage, according to reporting on the case.

Detectives executed search warrants at Walter Johnson High School and at Mulhern’s home, where police said they recovered electronic devices and other evidence. He was then arrested and taken to the Montgomery County Central Processing Unit to await a bond hearing. The investigation remains ongoing.

In a letter sent to the school community yesterday, Morgan said the staff member had been placed on leave without pay, effective immediately, pending the outcome of the investigation. The letter also said the school reported the matter to police as soon as it became aware of it and made counselors, psychologists, and social workers available to support students.

The allegations have drawn additional attention because Mulhern appears to have had a longstanding connection to the school’s theater program. Mulhern had served as a technical director on previous productions and has been described as a “professional theatrical technician.”

This remains a developing story. For now, the focus should be on supporting the Walter Johnson High School community and especially the students impacted, as they process something deeply unsettling and wait for more answers.