Students used a "photo vault" app to conceal hundreds of illicit photos.
Students at Canon City High School potentially face criminal charges following an investigation that revealed that hundreds of nude photos were being exchanged by the students. The photos were hidden using special apps on their phones, according to the superintendent of the Colorado school.
The New York Times reports that the investigation began Monday, finding that students were circulating somewhere between 300 and 400 photos of approximately 100 students. Some of the students pictured were in the eighth grade, and were in the possession of members of Canon City High School’s football team.
As of Friday no arrests have been made in connection to the photo, according to Jim Cox, captain of the the Canon City Police Department. The photos were hidden from obvious view on the phone by using a “photo vault” application. On the surface, the app looked like that of a calculator. After some difficulty, parents and school officials were able to access the application, requesting passwords from the students.
Photo vault applications have been available for Apple and Android phones for years, and have been a common way to conceal content on phones. The number of students involved with the ring of photos has not been determined, but officials have found that some were taken on school property, such as the locker room. Because of this, Canon City High School cancelled their football game, as they could not determine how many of the team members were involved.
Several students have been suspended in association with the photo-sharing ring. No students have been expelled at this time. The investigation is attempting to find out if anyone was threatened or coerced into sharing the photos.
The investigation was the result of student reporting and tips left through Colorado’s Safe2tell program, which allows students to report instances like these, anonymously. Instances of photo sharing are being dealt with on a case-by-case basis, by the district attorney. “I don’t think he wants to prosecute 100 kids for a class three felony,” Superintendent George Welch said, when asked about potential criminal charges.
