A teacher who lost his job last year after being accused of filming a boy in a department store bathroom in Texarkana, Texas, was formally charged in Miller County last week for allegedly filming boys in a Texarkana, Ark., school bathroom.
Shane Samuel Jones, 31, is facing charges for alleged misconduct involving the filming of boys in restrooms in both Texarkanas. Last week, Miller County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Kristian Robertson signed off on formal charges of voyeurism and video voyeurism.
Jones pleaded guilty to invasive video recording in Bowie County in February, but the plea was withdrawn after 202nd District Judge John Tidwell refused to approve a plea bargain that included probation. Jones' case in Texas is expected to be presented to a Bowie County grand jury this month.
Jones came to the attention of law enforcement Nov. 25. An 11-year-old boy told his father a man had slipped his phone under the stall divider in a restroom at JCPenney in Central Mall in Texarkana, Texas, and police were called, according to a probable-cause affidavit used to create the following account.
With Jones' consent, officers looked in the phone and were unable to find any incriminating images. Jones allegedly told the officers he "just wanted to throw his phone away" and gave officers permission to keep the phone for further investigation.
Jones allegedly confessed to filming and deleting a video of the boy at JCPenney during an interview Nov. 27 with Texarkana, Texas, police.
"He stated that he began videoing male students at his place of employment, Trinity Christian School, while they were using the toilets in the bathroom stalls approximately two years ago," the affidavit states.
Jones allegedly admitted to having about 10 videos on an old cellphone. He also admitted to filming two male bathroom users at JCPenney on two occasions. A search warrant was executed on Jones' home in Texarkana, Ark., during which a number of electronic storage devices, computers and cellphones were seized.
Jones allegedly denied touching any of the students he taught at Trinity Christian School inappropriately, though he did tell investigators that he has washed the feet of several boys in a "mentoring group" at the school as a "spiritual lesson."
Jones was fired from his job as a teacher at Trinity because of the allegations. Jones began teaching at the school in 2015 after several years of employment as a teacher at College Hill Middle School, according to earlier reports.
If convicted of invasive video recording in Bowie County, Jones faces six months to two years in a Texas state jail. Both of the charges pending against Jones in Miller County are punishable by one to six years in prison and a fine up to $10,000.
At Jones' hearing last month in Bowie County, Tidwell amended Jones' bond conditions to include a GPS leg monitor and no contact with minors. Jones posted bond on a $100,000 bail after being arrested in Miller County.
Jones is scheduled to appear this week for arraigment before Circuit Judge Brent Haltom in Miller County. If Jones is indicted by a Bowie County grand jury, he will be scheduled for formal arraignment before Tidwell in Bowie County.