Tag Archives: Instagram

“That’s Not Funny!” Schools View Threats with Increasing Alarm

In August, International Data Corporation (IDC) predicted that 1.44 billion smartphones would be shipped in 2015, a 10.4% increase over the preceding year. It is a safe bet that a hefty percentage of those smartphones will be tucked under a Christmas tree a week from now. Thousands upon thousands of teens (and even younger children)…

10 Years of Detention? TX Middle Schooler Faces Felony Charge for Online Threat

A 13-year-old girl in Dallas, TX is facing a third-degree felony charge for posting a shooting threat on Instagram. Officials at the T.W. Browne School in southwest Dallas were told last Monday night that someone had posted a photo to Instagram of man pointing a gun straight at a camera, with the following grim caption:…

“Innocuous” Photo of Breast Grope Causes Problems for PA Teacher

A goofy but reportedly “innocent” photo posted to Instagram has landed a Rochester (PA) Area School District teacher in hot water. At the District’s prom in May, high school chemistry teacher Amy Douglas posed for a photograph with two female students. According to the description published by a local Web site, BeaverCountian.com, the photo clearly…

Northumbria Police Catch Children as Young as 10 Sexting

Out of the far northeast of England comes a disturbing report, courtesy of a Freedom of Information request filed by the Daily Mail. Over the last year, the Northumbria Police have investigated a number of sexting cases involving children as young as 10, 11, and 12 years of age. The Northumbria Police force is one…

Can Law Enforcement Forensics Labs Keep Up with the Explosion of Digital Devices?

A new case arising out of White Oak, TX helps to illustrate not only the slippery slope of teacher-student cell phone communications, but the enormous challenges law enforcement officials face in investigating charges of digital misconduct. At the beginning of May, the news broke that an educator in the White Oaks Independent School District had…

Request for Nude Photos Costs Indiana Teacher His Job

Scott Schermerhorn, 31, a physical education teacher and boys’ golf coach at Clarksville High School in Indiana was arrested and suspended on April 16, when police accused him of soliciting nude photos from underage students at the school. In February, a 15 or 16-year-old girl (accounts differ) told a trusted adult friend that she had…