November 03, 2015
Three juveniles face charges of creating and sending pornographic images of students in the Tredyffrin-Easttown School District, police announced Tuesday.
Those charged are between 11 and 15 years old, and police say more juveniles are likely to join them in the future.
The charges stem from an investigation by the Tredyffrin Township Police Department that began in April of this year.
Authorities say they discovered a number of videos and photos of students from Valley Forge Middle School and Tredyffrin-Easttown Middle School, with most of the intimate material being sent from juveniles voluntarily and having been taken at home or school.
Police gave accounts of a number of incidents concerning the circulation and impact of these images, with one student allegedly offering to sell the picture of a classmate to another student and another editing a pornographic image off the Internet to make it look like a classmate was performing the sex act.
The second incident led to an assault at Tredyffrin-Easttown, authorities say.
Many of the images, according to police, were selfies taken with the location services of cell phones turned on. Police say that could lead to child predators locating the homes of juveniles via the data on the photos.
In a statement, the school district said it was taking the matter "very seriously" but could not comment on specific disciplinary actions. The school district is cooperating fully in the ongoing investigation, the statement said.
The Tredyffrin Township Police Department offers Internet safety tips for parents on their website, www.tredyffrinpd.org. Authorities are also urging parents to visit the National Center For Missing and Exploited Children’s NetSmartz Workshop at http://www.netsmartz.org for training.
