HISD security officer accused of taking videos of boys in bathroom
HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A security officer working for HISD is accused of photographing students in a bathroom at Energized for Excellence Academy.
Investigators say there could be additional videos, which they are now aware of, showing young boys using the restroom.
Yandry Rivero, 20, is charged with improper photography. He was arrested Monday after a student reported an incident in a bathroom at HISD's "Energized for Excellence Academy" on Bissonnet.
Investigators said the boy told them he saw something strange come over the stall.
"He looked up and observed a cell phone over his stall from the adjacent stall. Either taking a photograph or a video recording him inside of his stall," said Harris County District Asst. District Attorney Patrick Stayton.
Prosecutors said the boy told a teacher he frantically dressed and got out of the stall to investigate.
"(The boy) looked in to the adjacent stall and (it) had the door closed, but he stated he could see through the crack between the wall and the door and could see the gold badge," Stayton said. "The uniform and the black boots that he recognized to be of the school security officer."
Investigators said they interviewed the security officer assigned by a company working for HISD. He let them see his phone and on it they found videos of several young boys that he'd attempted to delete, the videos still residing in a "recently deleted" folder.
At least one of them showed a boy believed to be 11 years old.
Detectives can't say yet how many children might have been photographed while in the bathroom, or if all the videos were taken at the same school.
A spokesperson for HISD released the following statement:
"An investigation is underway, and the security company for which the guard worked was terminated, effective immediately. Energized for Excellence Academy takes situations such as this very seriously, as student safety is always the top priority."
If you know anything about similar incidents, you can contact the Sex Crimes Unit at the Harris County District Attorney's Office.
Report a typo to the ABC13 staff
