Pictures showing the faces of girls with bare bodies have caused administrators to walk out of a private school in Pennsylvania, sparking student protests and prompting a criminal investigation.
A juvenile inmate was “removed” from Lancaster Country Day School and his cell phone was seized by investigators in August, Susquehanna County Police Detective Laurel Bair said Tuesday.
It is the latest example of how the use of intelligence to create or edit sexually explicit images has become problematic, including within school settings.
US law enforcement has been cracking down on computer-generated images of children as well as edited images of real children. The Department of Justice says it is going after those who use AI tools and states are rushing to pass laws to solve this problem.
A new Pennsylvania law that goes into effect at the end of next month makes it a crime to create or distribute artificially generated AI.
And police in South Korea are running a seven-month crackdown on deep-seated content, with tougher penalties, increased use of police officers and increased control of social media. Anxiety in South Korea grew after unconfirmed names of schools with victims circulated earlier this year.
As part of a police investigation into what Lancaster Country Day School describes as “photos that confuse AI,” a search warrant was used this summer to find an iPhone 11 linked to a 15-year-old, according to court records. do not inform the youth.
A woman told police that her daughter said a classmate “has been taking pictures of students and using Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology to portray young female students as naked,” according to a possible reason used to apply for a search warrant. .
Matt Micciche, the school’s principal, told police the school received a complaint about the images in November 2023 through the Safe2Say Something program but the suspect, identified by the first responders, denied the charges, according to Bair’s affidavit.
When other parents found out about the photos in May, Bair wrote, they also learned that “uncensored pictures” had been posted in the chat room.
Bair, who is leading the investigation because the suspect lives in the Susquehanna Police Department, said there was shock at the school “that this is happening and it happened in their small community.” He declined to say how many girls were featured in the photos but added that more information about the case would likely be made public in the next two weeks.
Erik Yabor, a spokesman for Lancaster District Attorney Heather Adams, said Tuesday that Lancaster County prosecutors have not commented on the ongoing investigation.
Attorney General Michelle Henry’s office spokeswoman said the agency could not comment on specific tips or reports made to the Safe2Say Something platform, which posts anonymous reports from students and others about security threats.
“Typically, our team takes tips and sends them to law enforcement or school personnel to be investigated,” Brett Hambright said. “We confirmed that it was done according to the matter you asked.”
LNP in Lancaster reported that many of Lancaster Country Day’s high school-aged students marched on Friday, November 8, marching around campus and chanting, “Hear us. Accept us. Let’s see.” School was canceled on Monday.
The LNP said the school had indicated on Friday that it had “parted ways” with Micciche and that board president Angela Ang-Alhadeff had resigned. The Associated Press left phone messages seeking comment from both on Tuesday. A letter to the school community on Monday by the Lancaster Country Day Board of Trustees said it is working to replace them and is “still finalizing a resolution to this matter.”
“What we can say is that within the last week, the board was informed of the information that led us to take the decision to resolve this issue,” wrote the board, including doing “what is best for the girls who have stayed. affects and interests the school in the long run. “
The school said counseling has been given to students and the school is reviewing reporting procedures, safety procedures and other policies related to student safety.