Montgomery County Police arrested Walter Johnson High School employee James Mulhern III on April 16 for allegedly videotaping underage girls in the school theater program’s changing room. Mulhern was released on a $10,000 bond and is currently restricted in his contact with minors, internet access and proximity to school premises.
Mulhern, a 43-year-old media and services technician, is charged with sex abuse of a minor. As part of the investigation, MCPD seized and is forensically analyzing over 100 devices from Mulhern’s residence.
Two Walter Johnson students first reported finding a camera in the theater’s control booth on April 7. The students discovered on the camera’s memory card a 2018 video showing Mulhern setting up the camera to record four girls, who later entered and began changing. Police said no nudity was visible and that detectives have since identified and contacted the victims.
Mulhern initially denied any wrongdoing but later admitted to being the man in the video. According to court records, Mulhern also confessed to having an attraction to multiple students.
Walter Johnson sophomore Ashley Cohen has performed in three of the school’s theater productions. Cohen said this situation has profoundly disturbed the community.
“It was eerie when I found out because I’m always around this guy,” Cohen said. “Nobody would’ve ever expected this from him.”
In a community letter, Walter Johnson principal Nicole Morgan said MCPS has placed Mulhern on unpaid leave pending the investigation results. Mulhern is scheduled for a preliminary hearing in court on May 15.
Mulhern previously served on the executive board of the Service Employees International Union Local 500, representing the interests of MCPS media and technology staff. He also ran a club at Walter Johnson called Prodo, where he helped students set up lights and microphones for assemblies.
Students told The Black & White that Mulhern was close with many of the seniors on the tech crew, spending five to six hours with them daily.
“There were a lot of seniors who were on tech duty who worked with him every single day, and they helped design the sets and build them,” Cohen said.
Tech support staff work with teachers and students to troubleshoot devices throughout each school, setting up audio and visual components for school events, including plays.
Walter Johnson sophomore Lily Cottrell participated in four of the school’s theater productions and said Mulhern’s actions came as a surprise.
“I don’t think he ever made anyone uncomfortable,” Cottrell said. “My friends literally saw him as another dad.”
Cohen said the news sparked alarm among many students who had to think back to their preparation for putting on the plays.
“I felt panic,” she said. “I realized, oh my God, if those are videos from the past two years, I’m definitely in them.”
This situation has not been the only security incident concerning MCPS staff members. In January, a secondary countywide background screening review flagged 22 employees, two due to criminal charges and 20 with Child Protective Services offenses disqualifying them from employment. This followed a review from the Montgomery County Office of the Inspector General on Aug. 4, 2025, which found significant lapses in MCPS’s primary criminal history checks and policy of self-reporting new charges.
Whitman sophomore Harper Koritz Hawkes said she would feel deeply uncomfortable if a similar situation to Walter Johnson’s happened at Whitman.
“It’s violating,” Hawkes said. “It’s a nightmare situation for a lot of teen girls.”
