"It was fortuitous that this case was going on simultaneously while we were speaking about this," she said. Nelson said the event was scheduled separate from the investigation, and that law enforcement agencies have been hosting the same event for the past couple years. So-called "sexting," or the sharing of sexually explicit photos, were among the problems discussed at the presentation. The increased use of social media and technology by students prompted police and school officials to host an information seminar last month on the "inappropriate use of social media," which was prompted by a growing number of students making "poor decisions" on social media, according to a message by Susan Flatmo, the district's clinical services coordinator. The investigation concluded and no charges were filed. Harding said he believed the allegations were unfounded, and that it would have been a misstep to send out emails to thousands of parents over the criminal investigation. Nelson confirmed that the department did call for administrators to maintain confidentiality to "ensure that no evidence would be destroyed" during the investigation.Įarlier this year, the district opted to not inform the public about a police investigation of an alleged sexual assault reported by the student newspaper, including one football player's description of a sexual assault in the locker room. "We were told it was an active crime scene and to not communicate to anyone," Harding said. He said the district referred the situation to the police as soon as they heard rumors of the file-sharing activity, and were told not to jeopardize the investigation. Officials at the Mountain View-Los Altos High School District did not inform the school community about the ongoing police investigation after they were instructed by police not to communicate about the investigation, according to Superintendent Jeff Harding. "We wanted to make sure that they have support if they felt like anything was traumatizing in any form or fashion, or are feeling stressed or depressed." "Social media has triggered an unprecedented number of cyberbullying cases," Nelson said. Police ensured that students involved in the investigation received access to counseling services, Nelson said. "We're wrapping up our investigation, and in the next couple of weeks we will be presenting this case to the district attorney's office," Nelson said.Īlthough sharing inappropriate photos over social media, particularly on photo-sharing services like Snapchat and Instagram, has been an increasing problem for schools and law enforcement, this is the first situation the Mountain View Police Department has seen where minors used file-sharing service to upload and distribute photos, Nelson said.Ī total of seven officers and detectives, including school resource officers and members of the Cyber Crime Unit and Child Crimes Unit, have been working on the case over the last three months, interviewing several students and families in order to narrow down the pool of suspects. Police are not disclosing specific details on the case as the investigation is ongoing, and as of Monday, none of the suspects had been arrested or charged with a crime. The investigation, which launched in late August, involves both male and female suspects from multiple high schools - all minors - using Dropbox to distribute photos, and two juvenile victims have been identified, according to police spokeswoman Katie Nelson.
Police are investigating several Mountain View High School students following reports that the teens shared naked photos over the file-sharing service Dropbox, according to the Mountain View Police Department.
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