Man Filmed Boys In Boston Latin School Bathroom, Elsewhere: DOJ

BOSTON – A Boston man was arrested today and charged in federal court in Boston for filming boys in the restrooms at Boston Latin School without their knowledge after two separate men accused him of filming them at a Boston College bathroom.

Eric Tran Thai, 36, was charged with five counts of sexual exploitation of children.

The US Attorney for Massachusetts said authorities seized recording equipment at Thai's home and found folders labeled “Boston Latin High School” which had some 45 videos of students in various states of dress using the urinals and stalls in a Boston Latin High School boys’ bathroom. The videos appear to have been created on 10 separate dates between February and December 2017.

Two separate Boston College students reported to the police that they had been videotaped without their knowledge or consent while they were using the men’s restrooms on the Boston College campus. Following the Feb. 27, 2018, report, police located and spoke with Thai, who was then arrested on state charges in Middlesex County Superior Court.

Thai admitted to “taking some pictures” of a man in the stall next to him without the man’s consent, according to police. He then admitted to doing something similar for about a year, according to police.

Thai was placed under arrest on state charges and his bag was subsequently searched; in it, police found several covert camera devices, including faux smoke detectors, a water bottle containing a small cube recording device, and a pair of sunglasses outfitted with a built-in camera.

During a search of Thai’s home on March 1, 2018, law enforcement seized some 26 computer hard drives, 20 thumb drives, 27 covert and regular cameras, 14 computers, iPads, and cell phones, and multiple SD and Sim cards.

During forensic analysis of the recovered items, investigators found several folders labeled: BU, MIT, Harvard, Northeastern, Bunker Hill, Boston Latin High School and several different malls, airports, and foreign country locations.

Investigators say forensic analysis is ongoing, because of how much data they collected.

The videos show Thai sitting in a bathroom stall at Boston Latin High School recording boys in adjacent stalls or at the urinals.

In some videos, Thai appears to hold a camera over the top of the partition between the bathroom stalls and videotaping from overhead. In other instances, he appears to hide a small camera inside his backpack, place the backpack on the bathroom floor and videotape individuals in the adjacent bathroom stall from under the stall’s partition, according to the US Attorney's Office.

While recording, it appears that Thai would simultaneously view what the camera was recording on a cellphone or a tablet. Thai was charged with five counts of sexual exploitation of children in violation of federal law.

Each charge of sexual exploitation of children provides for a mandatory minimum 15 years and up to 30 years in prison, a minimum of five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.

The case is part of the Department of Justice's Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse.