The Colorado Sun reported a few days ago from Brush, population 5,399, under the headline, "Rural Colorado school administrators investigated sexting between students. Now they’re charged in a child porn case." Here's an excerpt:
The case began in April, when [31-year-old assistant principal Bradley] Bass and secondary schools director Scott Hodgson were investigating sexual images that had been consensually shared between students at Brush High School. They took photos of the images as evidence, transferring them from a work cellphone to a cloud-based school server. No one has accused the administrators of keeping the photos for sexual gratification. They thought it was the correct way to document the case, supporters of the administrators say.
But under state statute, knowingly possessing any explicit images of kids is child pornography, no matter the intent. Law enforcement officers investigating are one of the few exceptions to the rule. Even parents could be charged.
Experts in higher education and law say Bass’ case demonstrates a rare but career-ruining risk for school administrators who may lack the training on how to deal with sexting, image exchanges that have become increasingly common among students today and were not contemplated when child pornography laws were drafted.
It’s uncommon for prosecutors to pursue charges in cases where there is no ill intent, experts say. (emphasis mine)
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