York County middle school student sent porn photos over Snapchat, police say

A female student at a York County middle school has been charged after sending child porn photos over Snapchat, police said.

Other charges against additional juveniles are possible, police said.

The girl at Clover Middle School was charged Wednesday with dissemination of obscene material, said Trent Faris, spokesman for the York County Sheriff’s Office. The school resource officer charged the student as a juvenile and petitioned her to South Carolina Family Court.

The incident did not happen at a school, but it came to light after students were talking about the images during school hours, officials said.

The origin of the photos and who are in the photos remains unclear, police said. The photos were described in a police report as “obscene images of a student or child pornography.”

It is unclear how many students saw the photos. Police described the students who had seen the pictures as “numerous,” police reports show.

Disseminating obscene material is a felony under South Carolina law. It is defined as anyone who “publishes, exhibits, or otherwise makes available anything obscene to any group or individual.”

There are also subsections of the law that pertain specifically to children.

The name, age and grade of the girl who was charged has not been released. The school serves sixth through eighth grades.

Deputies launched an investigation Wednesday, after an assistant principal told the school resource officer about the pictures, officers said. The resource officer obtained a search warrant for the student’s iPhone and seized the phone, said Faris of the sheriff’s office.

The investigation into the photos and the sharing of the images is ongoing, Faris said. The incident report filed by the school resource officer said there is a possibility of charges against other juveniles.

School district administrators up through the superintendent were notified of the incident by the school principal, officials said.

The Snapchat images were apparently shared over the winter break, and the photos were not shared at school, said Bryan Dillon, spokesman for the Clover school district.

The incident came to light Wednesday at school because female students at school were talking about the photos to the point that school was disrupted, Dillon said.

“This did not happen on campus,” Dillon said.

The school is handling disciplinary measures in accordance with district policy, Dillon said. Details about discipline to the student who was charged was not released.

Snapchat is a social media platform and multi-media messaging app that allows sharing of photos, videos, and other media items. It has over 180 million users, according to its Web site.

This story was originally published January 18, 2019 at 8:28 AM with the headline "York County middle school student sent porn photos over Snapchat, police say."