QUICK FACTS:
- Robert Shrader, 41, of Magnolia, and a former Memorial Hermann employee, was arrested on Wednesday
- Detectives say he installed hidden cameras in at least two bathrooms at Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Medical Center
- Shrader now faces seven counts of Invasive Visual Recording — one for each identified victim
- Investigators believe the cameras may have been recording from early 2025 through Aug. 25, 2025
THE WOODLANDS, Texas – The now-former Memorial Hermann employee accused of installing hidden cameras in hospital bathrooms is currently facing new charges.
FIRST REPORT: Staff, patients captured in hundreds of hidden recordings by former Memorial Hermann The Woodlands employee
Robert Shrader, 41, of Magnolia, was arrested Wednesday morning and charged with a single count of Invasive Visual Recording by the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office.
Those charges have now increased to seven counts of Invasive Visual Recording, according to court records obtained by KPRC 2.
Shrader appeared before a magistrate judge on Thursday morning wearing a prison jumpsuit and restrained with handcuffs.
The judge issued a $35,000 bond, which breaks down to $5,000 for each of the seven counts of Invasive Visual Recording. Shrader has since posted bond on Thursday afternoon.
The former hospital director didn’t speak a word. Instead, his attorney, Brian Folley, asked about further charges coming.
Brian Foley: “Just so that we can make an intelligent decision, is there is there an anticipation from the DA’s office of any additional charges other than these, or is this...”
DA’s Office Representative: “I can’t advise on that right now. I’m sure our office will reach out to you.”
On top of the normal conditions issued if Shrader is to make bond, the judge added a condition that Shrader is not to go near Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Medical Center.
Am I A Victim?
It’s a question many employees of the hospital, patients, and even family members might be asking right now. This is the most descriptive location of the bathrooms where the cameras were located:
Camera 1:
- Second floor of the West Tower
- Across the hallway from the labor and delivery area
- Located
Camera 2:
- Third floor of the West Tower
- Located inside a surgical medical unit
- Accessible by the public (patients, families, and staff)
The cameras could have been placed in these bathrooms as early as the beginning of 2025, according to Montgomery Co. Sheriff Wesley Doolittle.
This information could change as detectives continue to sift through more evidence.
Background
Shrader is accused of installing the hidden cameras in at least two bathrooms at Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Medical Center in Montgomery County.
Engineers doing maintenance on the HVAC system discovered one of the cameras on August 21. A second camera was found days later, on August 25.
According to court records, the cameras had a combined 300+ image and video recordings on the memory cards. These recordings include a video of Shrader installing the camera in the ceiling tiles of one of the bathrooms. It’s what helped investigators arrest Shrader at his Magnolia home on Wednesday, where they also executed a search warrant.
According to his now-deleted LinkedIn profile, his title was listed as Patient Care Director.
KPRC 2 has asked Memorial Hermann for confirmation of this role, but the hospital system would not provide this information.
Sheriff Doolittle told KPRC 2’s Gage Goulding in an exclusive interview on Wednesday that Shrader was a manager.
“I understand that he was a mid-level manager,” he said.
Detectives searched Shrader’s home on Wednesday. The search was “successful,” but authorities wouldn’t elaborate beyond that as the investigation is still in its infancy.
Shrader’s Former Teaching Career
Before entering the medical field, Shrader was previously in Houston-area classrooms teaching high school kids.
According to information obtained by KPRC 2, Shrader spent two years at Cypress-Fairbanks (Cy-Fair) ISD in Northwest Harris County.
A spokesperson for the district confirmed that Shrader was a substitute teacher with Cy-Fair ISD from October 1, 2006, until January 2007.
He then took on a role as a science teacher from January 3, 2007, until his resignation on December 30, 2011.
“Mr. Shrader’s reason for resigning was that he was returning to school‚” a school district spokesperson wrote to KPRC 2.
Investigation Just Getting Started
Even though Shrader has been arrested and charged with installing the hidden cameras and secretly recording his coworkers and patients, the investigation is far from over.
On Wednesday, Sheriff Doolittle spoke one-on-one with KPRC 2’s Gage Goulding to give an inside look at the now monumental investigation his detectives are taking on.
Sheriff Doolittle: “In any criminal investigation, you have to take the evidence that you have and analyze it,” Sheriff Doolittle said. “Once you analyze that evidence, there may be a single victim that was in the restroom multiple times because of location or proximity to where their desk was or to where they were working.”
Gage Goulding: “This could be a very large-scale ordeal?”
Sheriff Doolittle: “Doing criminal investigations, it’s that analysis of the data that takes a long time,” Sheriff Doolittle explained. “Collecting the devices, downloading them, but going through them piece by piece, working with our digital forensics here at the sheriff’s office or crime laboratory and our detectives, the victims, and the hospital to try to identify the folks whose rights and privacy was violated.”
In the less than 24 hours since Shrader was arrested, he was charged with numerous more counts of Invasive Visual Recording.
That number will continue to grow as investigators identify additional victims.
‘Failed Us All’
Memorial Hermann fired Shrader the day the cameras were found, according to conversations with a hospital spokesperson.
On Wednesday, after Shrader’s arrest, Memorial Hermann issued the following statement about the now-former manager accused of the crime:
“We would like to thank the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, who is leading the investigation, and all other law enforcement agencies who are assisting in this matter.
We are shocked, deeply upset, and offended by this individual’s illegal and reprehensible behavior, which not only has affected our workforce, patients, and the communities we serve at our Woodlands Campus but also violated the trust placed in him and failed us all.
Our highest priority is ensuring the safety, privacy, and well-being of everyone who enters our facilities, and we have zero tolerance for such conduct. Upon learning of the unacceptable behavior of this individual, who has been identified as Robert Shrader, we immediately engaged law enforcement and terminated him. We also reviewed his employment records and confirmed there were no related complaints filed.
We have performed security sweeps across the Woodlands Campus. We are also partnering with law enforcement on a broader response plan for all of our facilities.
We will continue our full and ongoing cooperation with the investigation and, equally important, doing all we can to provide compassionate support to our employees and all those who may have been impacted."
This is a developing story. Stay with KPRC 2 and Click2Houston.com for updates.