Photos depicting girls’ faces with naked bodies led to the departure of leaders from a private school in Pennsylvania, prompted student protests and sparked a criminal investigation.
A juvenile suspect was “removed” from Lancaster Country Day School and investigators seized his cell phone in August, Susquehanna Regional Police Department Detective Laurel Baer said Tuesday.
It’s the latest example of how the use of artificial intelligence to create or manipulate images with sexual content has become a concern, including within school settings.
US law enforcement agencies are cracking down on computer-generated images of children, as well as manipulated images of real children. The Justice Department says it is going after people who exploit AI tools, and states have raced to enact laws to address the problem.
A new Pennsylvania state law that will take effect at the end of next month expressly criminalizes the creation or dissemination of AI-generated child sexual exploitation material.
And police in South Korea are under seven months of pressure to combat what is clearly deeply fake content, with tougher penalties, widespread use of undercover officers and increased regulation of social media. Concerns deepened in South Korea after unconfirmed lists of schools with victims spread earlier this year.
As part of a police investigation into what Lancaster Country Day School described as “disturbing AI-generated images,” this summer an iPhone 11 linked to a 15-year-old boy was obtained, according to court records. A search warrant was used for Records do not identify the juvenile.
A woman told police that her daughter said a fellow student was “taking pictures of students and using artificial intelligence (AI) technology to portray girls as naked”. .
The school received a complaint about the photos through the Safe2Say Something program in November 2023, but the suspect, identified only by his initials, was not identified, according to Beer’s affidavit. Hoi denied the allegations.
When some parents learned of the photos in May, Baer wrote, they also learned that “AI nude photos” had been posted in the chat room.
Byer, leading the investigation because the suspect lives in the Susquehanna Regional Police Department’s area, said the school is shocked “that this is even happening and that it happened in their small community.” He declined to say how many girls were featured in the photos, but added that more information about the case was likely to emerge in the next two weeks.
Eric Yabor, a spokesman for Lancaster District Attorney Heather Adams, said Tuesday that Lancaster County prosecutors do not comment on ongoing investigations.
A spokeswoman for Attorney General Michelle Henry’s office said the agency is not able to comment on specific tips or reports made on the Safe2Say Something platform, which includes anonymous reports of safety risks from students and others. are listed.
“Typically, our team receives the tips and forwards them to the appropriate law enforcement or school officials for review,” Brett Hambright said. “We have confirmed that this was done regarding the matter you inquired about.”
The LNP in Lancaster reported that most of Lancaster Country Day’s high school-age students walked out on Friday, Nov. 8, marching around campus and chanting, “Hear us. Acknowledge us. See us.” ” School was canceled on Monday.
The LNP said the school indicated on Friday that it had “parted ways” with Micich and that board president Angela Ing Alhadif had resigned. The Associated Press left phone messages with the two for comment Tuesday. The Lancaster Country Day Board of Trustees said in a letter to the school community Monday that it is working to replace them and is “still in the process of finalizing the resolution of the case.” “
“All we can say is that the board was made aware of information during the past week that led us to decide to resolve this matter,” the board wrote, “in the best interests of these girls.” including acting in the affected and long-term best interests of the school.”
The school said students have been offered counseling and the institution is reviewing reporting procedures, security practices and other policies related to student safety.
