Former teacher indicted for bathroom recording

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A former teacher accused of filming unsuspecting boys as they used the restroom has been indicted for invasive visual recording by a Bowie County grand jury.

Shane Samuel Jones, 31, is accused of filming a boy in November in a bathroom at the J.C. Penney department store in Texarkana, Texas. The 11-year-old noticed a phone being slipped from an adjacent stall into his and quickly notified his parents, who called police.

In interviews with investigators, Jones admitted to the conduct and allegedly confessed that he’d done the same thing multiple times to male students at Trinity Christian School in Texarkana, Ark., where he worked as a teacher until the videotaping allegations led to his termination.

At a hearing in February in Bowie County before 202nd District Judge John Tidwell, Jones pleaded guilty to invasive video recording as part of a plea bargain that included five years probation. Tidwell refused to approve a plea arrangement for probation and allowed Jones to withdraw his guilty plea.

Tidwell also amended the conditions of Jones’ bond to include a GPS leg monitor and no contact with children.

Jones pleaded not guilty Tuesday at a hearing before Circuit Judge Brent Haltom to charges of voyeurism and video voyeurism related to his alleged misconduct at Trinity Christian School. Texarkana attorney Danny Cook is representing Jones in both Texas and Arkansas.

Jones’ case in Texas is being prosecuted by First Assistant District Attorney Michael Shepherd and Assistant DA Katie Carter. The Arkansas charges in Miller County are being handled by Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Kristian Robertson.

Jones is scheduled to appear in court before Haltom for a pretrial hearing next month. A date for Jones to appear before Tidwell for arraignment on his indictment hasn’t been scheduled.

Invasive video recording is punishable by six months to two years in a Texas state jail. Each of the voyeurism charges pending in Arkansas are punishable by one to six years in prison and a fine up to $10,000.

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