Middle-School Principal Charged For Locker Room Recording

Middle-school Principal Charged

A Texas middle-school principal has been charged after she allegedly encouraged her daughter to plant a camera in a high school girls locker room.

Wendee Long, principal at Wayside Middle School in Fort Worth, purportedly prompted her daughter to place a cell-phone camera inside an Argyle High School girl's locker room in February, so as to spy on basketball coach Skip Townsend.

Long, whose two daughters play on the team, was reportedly concerned that the coach was being too stern with players. The principal reportedly wanted to get video of Townsend yelling at the girls during a half-time meeting at a game between Argyle and Sanger high schools.

The cell-phone footage was anonymously distributed to Argyle's school board and superintendent.

Long, 46, now faces two criminal counts for improper visual recording and wiretapping, and could face up to 20 years behind bars if convicted.

She turned herself in Monday night after a grand jury indicted her last week. She was released the next day after posting her $25,000 bond.

For the last 5 years, Long has been the principal at Wayside Middle School in the Eagle Mountain-Saginaw district and was previously a member of the school board in the Argyle district.

She has now been placed on paid administrative leave and the school district will conduct its own investigation.

Long's attorney, Daniel Peugh, said he was surprised by the charges and said no laws were broken.