MILWAUKEE — The former security coordinator of Cristo Rey Jesuit High School is charged after installing a hidden camera inside the girls' locker room, according to court documents.
A criminal complaint states that after Fernando Bustos, 41, was fired from the school, he initially refused to turn over his school laptop and iPhone.
While Bustos was retrieving belongings at the school, one of his backpacks contained a camera and SD card with hundreds of videos from May 2024 to February 2025, recorded at the high school.
A detective noted that 379 videos were recorded over two days in October, capturing clips of teens using the girls' locker room and Bustos placing the camera inside a locker with grates.
"I feel angry about all these things," parent Rosario Ulloa told TMJ4. "We need answers for the institution. What happened?"
Watch: Parent demands answers after former school security coordinator accused of installing hidden camera
Ulloa expressed frustration over the time it took for school leaders to notify families.
"My daughter plays sports at the school. She's always in the locker room. I know she's one of the victims here. I need to be notified," Ulloa stated.
In a statement, school leadership said one of its employees was terminated in early February for performance reasons but did not elaborate. The statement also noted that on February 18 while reviewing items left by the former employee, staff found personal recording devices and stored video files of students and staff that appeared to be taken without their knowledge.
Milwaukee police responded to Cristo Rey Jesuit High School on February 19 for a privacy issue involving Bustos. Families received a letter about the matter on the evening of March 3 after Bustos was formally charged.
School leaders say they were limited in what information they could share, citing the ongoing investigation.
No one answered the door at a home address listed for Bustos.
In a statement to TMJ4 and the letter to families, the school did not name Bustos. It explained that the hiring process includes background checks on employees and that there were no signs of concern for the terminated employee.
A warrant was issued for Bustos' arrest.
See the full statement from Cristo Rey Jesuit High School below.
As a Catholic, Jesuit high school, our first priority is always the physical, emotional, and spiritual safety and security of our students. In early February, Cristo Rey Jesuit terminated one of its employees for performance reasons. On February 18th, while cataloging items left at the school by the terminated employee, Cristo Rey Jesuit discovered personal recording devices and stored video files of students and staff members which appear to have been made without their knowledge or consent.
Because we are committed to safeguarding the privacy of our students and staff, upon discovering the video files, we immediately notified law enforcement and turned over the devices and files. We continue to fully cooperate with law enforcement on this matter.
As law enforcement’s investigation has unfolded, we have learned that some of the video files contained footage depicting students near the handwashing area in our girls’ locker room. The police have confirmed to us that the footage they have reviewed at this time includes individuals in undergarments but does not contain nudity. It remains true that this conduct is a clear violation of our student’s privacy expectations. Working with law enforcement, we have completed a full search of our school building and determined that there are no other unauthorized recording devices on our campus.
While law enforcement’s investigation was unfolding, and to protect the integrity of that process, we were limited in the information we could share. As soon as the DA brought charges on March 3rd, we contacted our community to share additional information regarding this matter.
Because the safety of our community has always been of imminent importance to us, it has long been our practice to conduct background checks on all candidates prior to employment, share our expectations around our standards of conduct with all employees, and execute regular trainings to ensure our expectations and policies are understood in practice, consistent with best practices and guidelines. There was no indication in our hiring process that there was reason for concern regarding this former employee.
We are deeply saddened by this incident. We are committed to supporting our community as we process this information together and understand the next steps.
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