Parents Outraged Over Handling of Sexting Incident at SHS

A representative of a parenting group of high schoolers called Scarsdale10583 to express outrage that Scarsdale High School had not taken action in a case involving "sexting." According to parents, a few weeks ago a tenth grade boy at SHS took a video of a sexual act involving himself and a ninth grade girl. Afterwards, he circulated the video – but it was not clear how widely it was disseminated.

When the parents of the girl learned what had happened they were advised to go to the police --which they did. They were given the option of pressing charges against the boy but opted not to do so. Police were told that only a few others had seen the video and they called the recipients and asked them to delete it after they confirmed that it had not been shared further.

According to the ACLU, sexting is a felony, so there could have been major legal consequences if charges were pressed. Here's what they explain.

"Child pornography laws, originally designed to protect children against adult predators, inadvertently criminalize both consensual and non-consensual sexting where the person in the photo is under 18. The penalties are draconian. Under current Washington law, even any minor involved simply in consensual sexting with a person his or her own age faces felony charges, up to five years in prison, and mandatory sex offender registration."

The parents at the parenting group were angry that the boy suffered no consequences. Where is the school's Code of Conduct, they asked? According to a member of the group, the student plays on a sports team and was not suspended from playing, though other athletes have been suspended from teams for far more trivial offenses.

Why, they wondered, would there be stiffer penalties for missing practice than for circulating a pornographic video of a schoolmate? And what message was the lack of punishment sending to students about how to treat girls?

We called Scarsdale Schools Superintendent Thomas Hagerman for an explanation and here is what he shared:

Yes there is a Code of Conduct, but it only governs what happens on the school campus or at school sanctioned events. For incidents that occur off campus, parents are in charge and should turn to the police if laws have been broken. Though the school will cooperate with the police, they can't enforce behavior or punish students for actions that occur beyond the school's jurisdiction unless it involves a sanctioned team or club activity.

Hagerman did speak to Principal Kenneth Bonamo who confirmed that the incident occurred and said that from what he knew the video had not been widely distributed and that the two people who had seen it had not distributed it. However parents say that many students in the school are aware of the identities of those who were involved, damaging their reputations.

Hagerman said that youth outreach workers from Scarsdale & Edgemont Family Counseling are on site at the school and are trained to discuss these types of issues with students. They will do so when appropriate.