Nude photo of Rock Hill student sent out on Snapchat, cops say

Rock Hill police and school officials are investigating after a nude photo of a female high school student was sent out over Snapchat.

School officials notified police late Wednesday that the photo of a South Pointe High School student had been shared in a group on the social media platform with at least seven students, said Rock Hill Police Department Capt. Mark Bollinger.

The Snapchat group included students from both South Pointe and Northwestern high schools, police said.

Resource officers at both schools investigated to determine who had sent the picture.

Officers could not determine who sent the picture, so they have not filed any charges, Bollinger said.

“As of right now, we can’t identify who sent the original photo,” Bollinger said. “To charge someone with disseminating obscene material, we would have to identify who sent it.”

The male student whom police said “allegedly” sent the photo to the group told police that his Snapchat account had been hacked the week before and that he could no longer log into his account., a Rock Hill police report said.

Mychal Frost, spokesman for the school district, said the school district would follow its code of conduct policy “in disciplining the student who disseminate an inappropriate photo.”

It was unclear what disciplinary measures would be taken, since police said they were unable to determine where the photo originated.

Resource officers found students who had the photos on their cellphones and deleted the pictures, Bollinger said.

Bollinger said such cases are traumatic for victims and can be perceived as bullying.

Officials with the Rock Hill school district also investigated, and made counselors available at schools for students affected.

This story was originally published October 26, 2018 at 4:03 PM with the headline "Nude photo of Rock Hill student sent out on Snapchat, cops say."