MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday that it is continuing to investigate a video that allegedly shows a sex act performed in a Bolton High School bathroom.
The video reportedly shows two classmates.
A concerned resident sent WREG the video Wednesday, and WREG immediately turned it over to SCSO deputies.
It is illegal for anyone, including minors, to possess sexual images of juveniles.
“We live in a very techno-savvy age. No one knows that more than kids do,” SCSO Spokesperson Chip Washington said.
WREG talked with SCSO, Memphis Police and Juvenile Court about what parents can do now to prevent their children from snapping pornographic images and landing themselves in trouble.
Parents might not realize that if their minor child takes a sexually explicit picture of his or herself and sends that picture to somebody else, even if that person is also a minor, it is a crime.
Psychologist Dr. Tucker Johnson works at Juvenile Court, a place that handles some of these cases.
“Kids are young. The parts of their brain that have to do with thinking ahead, consequences, planning are not fully developed. They need guidance from their parents, teachers, other adults,” he said.
Juveniles can face charges like sexual exploitation of a minor.
“Parents need to get on their children’s computers, get on their cellphones. If they don’t recognize an app on the cellphone, find out what it does, because some apps help children hide photographs,” Johnson said.
Johnson said parents can ask schools and law enforcement to explain the dangers to students.
“I always tell my children, and children that we mentor too, if you wouldn’t take a picture and let it be shown in your church, in your synagogue or in your mosque to show your faith leader, don’t take that picture,” MPD public information officer Louis Brownlee said.
Neither SCSO nor Shelby County Schools could share any updates with WREG Thursday about the status of the Bolton case.
Wednesday, SCS said two students were disciplined for the video.
Last October, a student at Bolton was accused of selling sex in a bathroom. There is no word, at this point, if that situation could be related.
