A Walter Johnson High School employee now faces 12 felony counts of sex abuse of a minor after Montgomery County police found hidden-camera videos of students on devices seized from the school and his home.
Each count is a felony.
James Mulhern III, 43, of Clarksburg, appeared via videoconference in jail scrubs at a Wednesday, July 29, bond hearing in Montgomery County District Court. Judge Sherri Koch released him on a $100,000 unsecured bond, a tenfold increase from the $10,000 bond set after his April arrest.
The eight new charges stem from a flash drive containing 15 hidden-camera videos, 11 of which were recorded inside Walter Johnson's girls' theater changing room and costume storage area, according to Bethesda Magazine. Investigators also found 39 images of Walter Johnson students and screenshots from students' social media profiles.
Detectives with the Special Victims Investigations Division seized more than 100 computers, cell phones, tablets and other electronic devices from the school and Mulhern's residence after his April arrest.
How the case began
A student discovered a video camera in the theater control booth on Tuesday, April 7, copied the memory card, and found recordings of students undressing in a changing room near the theater. The student emailed the contents to Principal Nicole Morgan on Wednesday, April 15. That original video, from 2018, showed four students in various stages of undress. Mulhern was initially charged with one count, then indicted on four counts for the four victims in that video.
Across both cases, investigators have now identified 12 student victims, The Banner reported.
What prosecutors said
Assistant State's Attorney Erin Chapman told Judge Koch that Mulhern had a "perversive interest in his students" and argued he should be held without bond because of concerns about potential grooming.
Court records show Mulhern initially denied wrongdoing to police but then acknowledged he was the man seen in screenshots setting up a camera in the changing room and returning to turn it off. He also told police he had an attraction to multiple students while working at the school.
Bond conditions
Koch imposed several restrictions: no contact with minors except supervised visits with his 4-year-old son, no internet access, no going near Walter Johnson High School, and verification that he is living at an address other than his mother's home. Chapman noted Mulhern's mother was present in the theater department during the alleged incidents and will likely be a witness.
Defense attorney David Wooten argued Mulhern completed a psychosexual evaluation showing low recidivism risk and is attending sex-specific therapy. "He is not a current, present danger to the community," Wooten said at the hearing.
Mulhern is on leave without pay from Montgomery County Public Schools, The Banner reported, citing a district spokesperson. If convicted on all 12 counts, he faces up to 300 years in prison.
Montgomery County State's Attorney John McCarthy said after the hearing that the investigation is ongoing and prosecutors are considering combining the two cases through a superseding indictment. No next court date has been announced.
Anyone with information about this case can contact the Montgomery County Police Special Victims Investigations Division at 240-773-5400.
