Police to charge 13-year-old in Peters Township sexting case
Peters Township police will charge a 13-year-old male student at Peters Township Middle School with transmitting sexually explicit images of girls at the school.
Peters police Chief Harry Fruecht said Monday the charge will be a misdemeanor offense, but he could not say what type of punishment the minor will receive because the case is under investigation. Multiple people are expected to be charged, Fruecht said.
In late January, police began investigating a report of a male student at the school who had nude and partially nude pictures of female classmates on his cellphone during the school day. In one instance, a girl took a nude photograph of herself, Fruecht said. The photos were not taken on school property.
The boy with the pictures on his cellphone was reported to teachers by another student, police said. It is against the law to transmit nude photos of anyone between 12 and 18 years old.
“The district will not comment on matters of student discipline or on the police investigation,” said Shelly Belcher, a Peters Township School District spokeswoman. “We encourage parents to talk openly with their children about the potential dangers of social media and the consequences of inappropriate uses of technology.”
Last October, the district held a technology safety forum at Peters Township Middle School about the darker side of social media that detailed inappropriate uses of technology and warned students about using their cellphones to shoot questionable photos.