Teh One Who Knocks
02-15-2012, 03:23 PM
By Eileen Curran - New England Cable News
More than a dozen Massachusetts high school students were shocked to learn their Facebook pictures had ended up on a porn website. The students go to Bay Path Technical Vocational Regional High School in Charlton, Ma. Now police and the FBI are investigating.
Police say all the girls were fully clothed in the pictures, still it's very unnerving for the victims as well as other students.
"It was pretty shocking and disgusting that someone would do that to them," said Brenna Keefe, a senior at Bay Path.
Keefe knows two girls whose pictures were lifted from their Facebook pages and posted on a porn site.
"They're just kind of embarrassed by it and shocked by it too," she said.
Late last month, a parent and some students notified school officials about the pictures on the unnamed site. The school investigated and found the pictures of 17 students there--some as young as 14 years old.
Mary Jane Rickson, Dean of Students called each girl in to tell her the news.
"This was probably one of the most uncomfortable conversations I've ever had to have, especially with telling some of the girls who didn't know that they were on the actual website," she said. "They were very upset."
There was also personal information posted with the pictures, their names and where they went to school. While the Bay Path students were clothed in their pictures, the site also had pictures of nude children on it. The school contacted police, and police contacted the FBI.
"In the internet, where it's hosted, where the crime is perpetrated, could be anywhere in the world. It's beyond our capability to track it down," said Charlton Police Chief James Pervier.
Police say the privacy settings on the students Facebook accounts allowed access to the photos and the information, but both police and school officials say the kids aren't to blame. Students agree.
" You can't do anything about it if your pictures are up there people are going to think, Oh gross, that's nasty," said Bay Path senior Arianna Clarke.
"That's not fair to them at all especially because they didn't do it," said Bay Path senior Ashley Albin. "They didn't put their pictures up there. They shouldn't get the repercussions from it."
Police and school officials are encouraging parents to check their kids Facebook privacy settings. Something very innocent, in the wrong hands, can be very deceiving.
More than a dozen Massachusetts high school students were shocked to learn their Facebook pictures had ended up on a porn website. The students go to Bay Path Technical Vocational Regional High School in Charlton, Ma. Now police and the FBI are investigating.
Police say all the girls were fully clothed in the pictures, still it's very unnerving for the victims as well as other students.
"It was pretty shocking and disgusting that someone would do that to them," said Brenna Keefe, a senior at Bay Path.
Keefe knows two girls whose pictures were lifted from their Facebook pages and posted on a porn site.
"They're just kind of embarrassed by it and shocked by it too," she said.
Late last month, a parent and some students notified school officials about the pictures on the unnamed site. The school investigated and found the pictures of 17 students there--some as young as 14 years old.
Mary Jane Rickson, Dean of Students called each girl in to tell her the news.
"This was probably one of the most uncomfortable conversations I've ever had to have, especially with telling some of the girls who didn't know that they were on the actual website," she said. "They were very upset."
There was also personal information posted with the pictures, their names and where they went to school. While the Bay Path students were clothed in their pictures, the site also had pictures of nude children on it. The school contacted police, and police contacted the FBI.
"In the internet, where it's hosted, where the crime is perpetrated, could be anywhere in the world. It's beyond our capability to track it down," said Charlton Police Chief James Pervier.
Police say the privacy settings on the students Facebook accounts allowed access to the photos and the information, but both police and school officials say the kids aren't to blame. Students agree.
" You can't do anything about it if your pictures are up there people are going to think, Oh gross, that's nasty," said Bay Path senior Arianna Clarke.
"That's not fair to them at all especially because they didn't do it," said Bay Path senior Ashley Albin. "They didn't put their pictures up there. They shouldn't get the repercussions from it."
Police and school officials are encouraging parents to check their kids Facebook privacy settings. Something very innocent, in the wrong hands, can be very deceiving.