WELLSBURG, W.Va. — Brooke County Senator Ryan Weld is ready to amend state code in the upcoming legislative session in the wake of a disturbing discovery at Brooke High School.
Brooke High School Principal Eric James faces two felony charges after he allegedly placed four cameras in three separate girls’ dressing rooms at the high school. The charges include violation of the state’s wiretapping law and entering without breaking.
Weld learned soon after the incident when talking to local prosecutors, the statute for the act of secretly filming somebody undressing is a misdemeanor.
“I discovered there’s a gap. The first offense is just a misdemeanor and it’s not until the second or subsequent offense that it becomes a felony,” said Weld in a conversation on MetroNews Talkline.
Weld said the two crimes for which James was charged fit the definition of what was allegedly done, but had they not met the statutory criteria, there’s a chance the principal would have faced minimal charges.
“Moving forward I think if you engage in these sick act, you absolutely should be charged with a felony,” said Weld.
Weld said he’s examined the state code and believes along with the first offense being elevated to a felony, there are other parts of the code in serious need of an upgrade as well.
“Currently if you disclose these images you have to register (as a sex offender). However, if you merely record them you do not have to register. I think that has to be changed as well,” said Weld.
Weld said the current state code dealing with this particular issue was last revisited in the early 2000’s and in his time in the Legislature has never come up for amendment. He’s hoped to include new legislation to change the statute and will also look at other similar state codes in need of advancement to meet advancement in modern technology.
“When it comes to A-I images and videos created using A-I, whether they depict an adult or a minor. We already have something on the books, but with technology updates we’ll probably have to update something in our state code as well,” he said.