A school custodian has been arrested in West Virginia, where police said he was allegedly caught hiding inside of a high school girls’ locker room during a recent basketball game.
William Howard Shoup, 25, is no longer on the payroll at Berkeley County Schools in Martinsburg.
Shoup was arrested on Thursday, February 12, after police say that he was discovered hiding in the locker room during a girls’ basketball game at Martinsburg High School.
The Martinsburg team was hosting a basketball game from Hedgesville High School in Maryland.
Shoup, according to police, was discovered while hiding inside a closet within the visiting team’s girls’ locker room during the game, officials said.
Police were summoned to the school as people who had attended the game prevented him from leaving the area. The Martinsburg City Police Department responded to the school and arrested the custodian.
Shoup is being held on $1.3 million bail. Information on his possible lawyer was not available Monday, February 16.
Shoup was arraigned Thursday before the Berkeley County Magistrate, where he pleaded not guilty to all 29 charges. Authorities have not publicly detailed the specific charges pending against him, but Metro News reported that Shoup was arraigned on 14 counts of “invasion of privacy – visual portrayal of other who is full or partially nude without permission” and 13 counts of attempting “to commit a felony punishable by imprisonment for a term less than life.”
Shoup also faces two counts related to possessing a firearm or deadly weapon in or on school grounds, according to the site.
In a statement to families and staff, Berkeley County Schools Superintendent Ryan Saxe called the entire situation “deeply concerning.”
“The safety and dignity of our students is non-negotiable,” Saxe said. “What happened is deeply concerning, and our priority is supporting the students and families impacted. We are cooperating fully with law enforcement and will take every appropriate step to ensure accountability and to strengthen supervision and access procedures around student areas at school events.”
Administrators from both schools have confirmed they are working with police to make all of the students who were involved available for interviews. All of the victims’ families were contacted the same evening, according to the district.
The school said in a statement that it performed a routine background check on Shoup, which turned up nothing of concern.
“We understand that this situation may raise serious concerns within our school community,” the district said in a Facebook post on the arrest. “While we recognize the desire for additional information, we are unable to share further details at this time.”
The investigation into the matter is active and ongoing.
If convicted on the invasion of privacy charges alone, he could be sentenced to 14 years behind bars and fines of up to $70,000. If convicted of committing a felony punishable by imprisonment for a term less than life, he could be sent away for 39 years, according to state law. He would also be subject to additional fines of up to $6,500.
