Security officer accused of taking videos of boys

A Houston school security officer is free on bail after being accused of taking bathroom photos and videos of boys at Energized for Excellence Academy, a middle school near Bellaire in west Houston.

Yandry Jimenez Rivero, a 20-year-old Cuban national who was working for a private security company, was arrested earlier this week after allegedly being caught by an 11-yearold boy, prosecutors said Thursday.

The tween was in a bathroom stall when he looked up to see a cellphone being held by someone in an adjacent stall.

The boy told a teacher that as he left, he could see black boots under the door of the stall and, through the gap between the door and the wall, he saw a gold badge on a black uniform.

Authorities checked surveillance video to see Rivero going in and out of the restroom at the same time.

School officials confiscated Rivero’s phone and found a number of videos of young boys in restrooms in a deleted folder.

Prosecutor Patrick Stayton said the Harris County District Attorney’s Office is working to identify other boys in videos.

At a midday news conference, he declined to speculate on how many boys may be in videos or whether they are all from the Energized for Excellence Academy on Bissonet.

Rivero is charged with improper photography in a bathroom, a state jail felony. If convicted, he faces a possible sentence of two years behind bars.

He is free on $1,500 bond.

School officials could not be reached for comment. Rivero does not yet have a lawyer according to court records.