On Wednesday, Dec.16, El Roble Principal Scott Martinez was notified by an anonymous source of a possible incident regarding intermediate school students sending explicit images of themselves and others. The following day, Dec. 17, the investigation immediately expanded in conjunction with the Claremont Police Department since child pornography laws were broken. El Roble first became aware of the sexual scandal after one of their resource officers was informed that 15 students were sending explicit pictures of themselves to other students. The students reportedly used the common communication applications on smartphones, kik and Snapchat. These apps allow viewers to see the photo and either screenshot it or save it. Unfortunately, once the photo is saved there is no way to permanently stop others from seeing it.

“All students [involved] were given appropriate consequences for their actions,” Martinez said.

Martinez did not elaborate on the punishments the students will face for their disciplinary actions due to privacy laws. However, in regards to the guidelines of the district, the students have been appropriately disciplined. Nevertheless, this incident calls for punishment far beyond what El Roble can offer since the students technically broke child pornography laws and are considered suspects and victims. Currently, the child pornograhy law states that individuals, regardless of age, who produce, distribute, or possess an image of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct are committing a felony. Under the current state child pornography statutes, the students can be tried as adults and may face up to six years in prison. Even though the students were going to face federal punishment, a meeting was convened on Jan. 7 between the students, parents of the students, CUSD school administrators, and Claremont police officers to discuss the fates of the students for their disciplinary actions. All parties involved agreed upon dropping the charges.

To prevent this mishap from happening again, California lawmakers have recently proposed a bill that would make it illegal for a minor to take, send, or receive a sexually explicit image of a minor, but the minor would not face a prison sentence if the minor is under 18. Instead, the punishment would be community service and mandatory counseling to be paid for by the offender’s parents.

“We will continue to educate our students about appropriate digital behavior through the resources that we have, such as our internet safety lessons and school wide discipline assemblies,” Martinez said.

The Claremont Police Department and El Roble’s school officials have met with each of the parents of the students involved to inform them of the incident, and they have decided to drop the charges. Hopefully, students at El Roble and CHS can learn from this incident and consider the consequences of their own online actions more seriously.