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LANDIS, N.C. – It is a disturbing trend spreading across North Carolina. Pictures of scantily clad, sexually suggestive, seemingly underage girls popping up on Instagram. Nine students in Rowan County are the latest to join the growing list of apparent victims. Landis Police say three offensive accounts–“rowancountyhoes,” “rowan_county_hoes”, and “rowancountywhores”–captioned pictures with comments like “Kannapolis Middle”, “Freshman at Carson”, and “Student from South High.”
The purpose? Apparently to put the girls “on blast”, or embarrass them. One student tells WCCB, “I really didn’t think it would get that far, like, I saw the page on Instagram and they followed me and everything and I’m like, nothing’s gonna happen outta this. And like 20 pictures get uploaded, next thing you know it’s on the news.”
The investigation started earlier this month when a woman called Wake Forest police to report nude pictures of her daughter on social media. The State Bureau of Investigation is now looking into the Wake case, as well as incidents in Durham, Pitt, Craven, Johnston, Chatham, Randolph, Surry, and Edgecomb counties.
Landis Police, who haven’t yet requested SBI assistance, submitted two warrants on February 15: one to Facebook, the company that owns Instagram, and the other to Instagram itself. The accounts have been deleted, but it’s just a matter of time before the social media sites cough up the preserved owner info and IP addresses, revealing the person or people behind them. They face possible felony charges including sexual exploitation of a minor and cyber bullying.
In the meantime, Rowan County schools are sending home a cyber safety book with students and urging them to use good judgment. One student says, “Some girls I knew, some girls I didn’t. It changes my whole view on watching girls walk down the hallways at school.”
Lincoln County Public Schools tells WCCB they had one similar incident about a month ago, but the picture was deleted. They are keeping a close eye on the current investigation. So far, no reports of naked pictures in Mecklenburg, Gastonia, Iredell, or Union.
