CYPRESS, Texas — A high school student was arrested and charged after authorities said he recorded a classmate in the bathroom and shared the video with his friends.
The 17-year-old Cypress Falls High School student was charged with felony invasive visual recording. It's a charge that could haunt him for the rest of his life.
"This is a common problem in our schools and the biggest issue is this is, in Texas, it's a state jail felony," KHOU 11 legal analyst Carmen Roe said.
According to court documents, the incident happened last Wednesday morning. Fredrick Taylor pointed the camera on his phone over the top of a bathroom stall and recorded another student going to the bathroom. The video showed the victim's penis.
It didn't stop there, though, because Taylor then shared the video with his friends, according to court documents.
"It is a crime in Texas to send a photo of an individual without their consent if it is of their intimate areas," Roe said.
According to court records, school police investigated and identified Taylor as the person who took the video. Those court records said he admitted to doing it.
Taylor was arrested and booked into the Harris County Jail but has since bonded out.
Prosecutors want to remind people how serious the crime actually is.
"I think students, nowadays because smartphones are so accessible, might take this lightly ... (like), it's a joke. They don't realize there is a victim on the other side of it and it can be humiliating and even damaging to the victim as well," Assistant District Attorney Michelle Anderson said.
Prosecutors said the cases are fairly common in the juvenile system. They said they've even seen middle school students facing the same charge for similar actions.
Taylor is 17 and is being charged as an adult. His next court appearance is scheduled for May. According to court records, he hasn't hired an attorney.
Cy-Fair ISD issued this statement: "In addition to legal action, disciplinary consequences will be issued to any student determined to be involved, according to the CFISD Student Code of Conduct."
The district stopped short of defining those consequences.