West Virginia doctor wanted for allegedly hiding cameras in hospital staff restrooms

A doctor is wanted by police in West Virginia for allegedly hiding cameras in staff restrooms at a hospital.

Police have issued an arrest warrant for Lance Parks, who previously worked at J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown.

On June 26, police said employees at the hospital found a recording device concealed beneath a bathroom sink in a staff restroom. Investigators said they determined Parks placed the device there.

"Investigators also determined that the device contained video footage depicting eight hospital employees who had been unknowingly recorded while partially nude," a news release by the Monongalia County Prosecuting Attorney said.

Four days later, police said hospital staff found a second recording device in a toilet in a nonpublic staff restroom while responding to reports of a clogged pipe.

Police said investigators executed a search warrant at Parks' residence where they seized multiple computers and digital devices.

Investigators said files containing images of juvenile females were found that appear to have been downloaded from social media and photo-sharing websites.

"Investigators located numerous computer-generated images in which artificial intelligence had been used to manipulate the original photographs so that the depicted juveniles appeared to be fully nude," police said in a news release.

Police along with the Monongalia County Prosecuting Office and Ruby Memorial are working together to notify the victims.

"I think it's a shame when a physician who's entrusted for the public good to abuse their power and manipulate the situation for their own selfish needs," said Bart Mazer, who was visiting a patient at Ruby Memorial on Thursday.

Parks faces charges including criminal invasion of privacy and distribution and exhibiting computer-generated child pornography.

The investigation remains active and ongoing.

A spokesperson for West Virginia University hospitals released a statement on behalf of Ruby Memorial, calling the case "tremendously traumatic and disturbing for our employees" and saying it's committed to providing employees with a safe workplace. 

"The actions of one ill-intended individual will not drive us off that course, nor do they define the work of the thousands of employees who come to work every day in support of the people who entrust us with their care," the statement said.