Local Middle School Students Accused of Making, Sending Child Pornography
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CLEVELAND CO., NC –Β Investigators with the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office say several studentsΒ at Burns Middle School are responsible for making and sending child pornography.
Captain Joel Shores sayΒ a sixth grade girl admitted to taking explicit pictures and videos of herself on her cell phone andΒ and thenΒ sending them to aΒ boy at school.Β Β Investigators say that boy shared the pictures and videos toΒ other studentsΒ in class, then reportedlyΒ threatened the girl.Β
“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 theΒ student’s phonesΒ on TuesdayΒ and found the pictures and videos after downloading cell dataΒ on Thursday.
“The best way IΒ 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.Β
“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 inΒ their kid’s hands.Β
“It’s more on the parents. Stuff like that, that’s when the parents need to get involved or when the law needsΒ to get involved with the parents,” said Amanda Willis, a Lawndale resident.Β
“Parents are going to have to start cracking down on the kids, checking phones,” said Frankie Wright.
Since theΒ kids are around 11 years old, Shores says theyΒ will not be arrested. Instead, Shores says the students will beΒ given aΒ juvenile petition,Β which means they will have to go to court and face some type of punishment from aΒ judge.
