Local Middle School Students Accused of Making, Sending Child Pornography

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CLEVELAND CO., NC – Investigators with the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office say several students at Burns Middle School are responsible for making and sending child pornography.

Captain Joel Shores say a sixth grade girl admitted to taking explicit pictures and videos of herself on her cell phone and and then sending them to a boy at school.  Investigators say that boy shared the pictures and videos to other students in class, then reportedly threatened the girl. 

“He told her, ‘Send me some more videos or I’m going to send these out to everybody in the school. So, that’s where the extortion comes from,” said Shores.

Deputies confiscated the student’s phones on Tuesday and found the pictures and videos after downloading cell data on Thursday.

“The best way I can tell you is if you were to rate it, it would be triple-x” said Shores.

Shores says students at other schools could also be involved. 

“It appears that these videos have been sent to other people and my detectives are currently out looking for these people right now to interview them,” said Shores.

Parents say they’re worried child pornography could get in their kid’s hands. 

“It’s more on the parents. Stuff like that, that’s when the parents need to get involved or when the law needs to get involved with the parents,” said Amanda Willis, a Lawndale resident. 

“Parents are going to have to start cracking down on the kids, checking phones,” said Frankie Wright.

Since the kids are around 11 years old, Shores says they will not be arrested. Instead, Shores says the students will be given a juvenile petition, which means they will have to go to court and face some type of punishment from a judge.