MERIDEN — Voyeurism charges have been filed against a former elementary school principal, accused of recording upskirt videos of children.
John Bean was the principal of Highcrest Elementary School in Wethersfield. He resigned two months after he was suspected of taking the photographs of little girls with his cellphone at a Walmart store.
He was placed on administrative leave after his arrest in September.
Bean, 46, a father of two from East Hartford, was previously charged with interfering with police and breach of peace after a store security worker and a police officer approached him in a Hartford Walmart.
Employees thought Bean was acting suspiciously and monitored him, thinking he might be preparing to steal merchandise. While under observation, police said, they observed him taking pictures of children, “especially when they were not in the immediate vicinity of their parents.” He appeared to be following girls between 6-8 years old, police said at the time.
When the loss-prevention employee approached him, police said, he resisted.
Bean previously worked at schools in Tolland and South Windsor, where he was Teacher Of The Year in 2004 and served as assistant principal for a time.
He turned himself in to police on Monday and was being held on $175,000 bail. He was expected in Hartford Superior Court on Monday for arraignment.
