Wethersfield Officials: No Students Were Included in Voyeuristic Photos Taken by Former Principal

WETHERSFIELD, CT — School system administrators have told parents that no evidence exists that students were involved in inappropriate pictures taken by a former principal accused of voyeurism.

A letter was sent out this week by Superintendent of Schools Michael Emmett regarding the case of former Highcrest School principal John Bean.

Here is the letter sent out Monday:

March 6, 2017

Dear Highcrest Community,

As you may be aware, former Highcrest Principal John Bean was arrested this morning
following a lengthy investigation. Mr. Bean was placed on administrative leave, effective
September 26, 2016, immediately after his arrest during the weekend of September 24,
2016. Mr. Bean never returned to work following his placement on administrative leave,
and he resigned from his employment with the Wethersfield Board of Education, effective
October 31, 2016.

Throughout the investigation regarding Mr. Bean’s conduct, the Wethersfield Board of
Education has cooperated fully with law enforcement authorities, and we will continue to
do so.

To date, the law enforcement authorities investigating this matter have not advised us of any misconduct occurring on school grounds or involving any of our students. The district remains focused on providing your children with a high quality education in a safe and comfortable environment. As always, thank you for your ongoing support.

Sincerely,
Michael T. Emmett

Bean, 46, remained in custody on a $175,000 bond, court records indicate.

Bean, 46, was arraigned in Hartford Superior Court on Monday on voyeurism-related charges.
Bean resigned as principal of Highcrest Elementary School in late November following his arrest on Sept. 24.

The high bond was a result of a warrant for four counts each of voyeurism and risk of injury to a minor, to which he surrendered to state police on Monday.

Bean had initially been charged with second-degree breach of peace and interfering with an officer after allegedly taking secret photos of minors at a Hartford Wal-Mart. He had been free on $10,000 bond for those charges.

He is now to appear in both cases on March 21, according to judicial system records.

According to a police report, a uniformed officer assigned to the Wal-Mart was called into the store by security staffers because they had been watching a man, later identified as Bean, walking through several aisles.

Bean had no cart and appeared not to be shopping, but following children with his phone camera and then taking pictures of them when their mothers traveled out of the photo frames, police said in the report.
He was concealing his phone with a toy package, according to a police report.

Members of Homeland Security Investigations conducted a forensic examination of Bean's cell phone and located voyeuristic videos of female children being recorded in public places within the store. Homeland Security Investigations forwarded the information to the Connecticut State Police Computer Crimes Unit for further investigation, police said.

A review of the voyeuristic videos revealed that there were four videos containing upskirt footage of female children while they were shopping in public places such as Wal-Mart and other stores. Through the course of the investigation, it was determined that Bean was the one who had taken the upskirt videos of the female children, according to police.

Photo courtesy of Connecticut State Police