A West Virginia school custodian is facing 29 charges after police say he was found hiding in a girls’ locker room during a basketball game at a Berkeley County high school.
Berkeley County Schools report the custodian, who has been identified as William Howard Shoup, 25, “will not be returning to the school or to Berkeley County Schools.”
School officials said the incident happened during a girls’ basketball game Thursday at Martinsburg High School, involving the visiting team from Hedgesville High School, located just across the Maryland border.
Shoup was discovered hiding inside a closet within the visiting team’s girls’ locker room during the game, officials said.
Law enforcement was contacted immediately.
The Martinsburg City Police Department responded to the school and arrested the custodian. Authorities have since filed a total of 29 charges, though police have not publicly detailed the specific counts.
Shoup was arraigned Thursday before the Berkeley County Magistrate, where he pleaded not guilty to all 29 charges.
Shoup is in the Eastern Regional Jail on $1.3 million bail.
In a statement to families and staff, Berkeley County Schools Superintendent Ryan Saxe called the 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.”
School administrators from both Martinsburg and Hedgesville worked with police to interview all students involved, and families were contacted the same evening, according to the district.
Officials confirmed the custodian will not return to Martinsburg High School or to Berkeley County Schools.
District leaders said Berkeley County Schools follows a comprehensive hiring process that includes background checks for all employees. However, they declined to release further details about the case, citing privacy concerns and the need to preserve the integrity of the ongoing investigation.
“We understand that this situation may raise serious concerns within our school community,” the district said in a Facebook post. “While we recognize the desire for additional information, we are unable to share further details at this time.”
Support services have been made available to students who may be experiencing fear, stress or emotional distress as a result of the incident.
The investigation is ongoing.
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