Police: New Jersey teacher put recording device in middle school bathroom

PARSIPPANY, New Jersey (WABC) -- A New Jersey teacher has been arrested on charges of placing a recording device inside a faculty bathroom at his school.

Police say the device was discovered Thursday inside an adult designated bathroom at Littleton School in Parsippany by a school employee.

It was removed, and the Parsippany Police Department was immediately contacted.

Police determined that the recording device was capturing footage of the toilet area and was placed there for an undetermined amount of time.

The teacher, 40-year-old Christopher Esnes, of Gillette, was charged with invasion of privacy and released on his own recognizance pending his court date.

The school district says Esnes, a teacher at the school for 16 years, has been suspended and banned from Littleton Elementary School as well as all District properties.

No footage involving a juvenile has been found, police say.

The arrest came as a shock to the Parsippany school community. "He was a great hands-on teacher who knew all the students names," said parent Liz Cordasco.

Cordasco was understandably upset after learning the news about one of her child's former teachers.

"For all I know I could be on there," said Cordasco. "It's an invasion of someone's privacy and I think they need to do a background check on those teachers."

Bree Cordasco had Esnes as a teacher. "He made me come to school. He helped me get through kindergarten through fifth," she said.

Police say so far no footage involving a juvenile has been found but that their investigation is continuing.

"It's horrible. It's disgusting. I don't even know the full story, I heard he put a camera in a faculty bathroom?", said area resident Monica Florey.

Many parents who came to pick up their children did not want to discuss the arrest.

Others who live in the area say an incident of this nature is highly unusual and they are disturbed by it.