WAKEFIELD, Mass. — Wakefield Police have determined, after a monthslong investigation, that a male student accused of taking inappropriate pictures of girls and posting them online did not break the law.
According to Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan and Wakefield Police the male student “did not meet standards of violation of criminal law in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and none of those photos posted to Discord contained sexually explicit material.”
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Officers began their investigation on October 12 after receiving reports that a male Wakefield High School student, had allegedly posted inappropriate photos of female high school students on social media sites.
According to Wakefield Police, it was determined that the male student posted approximately 250 photos of female students to Discord. Many of the photos had previously been posted by the female students on their own social media accounts, including VSCO, TikTok, and Instagram, but it was also determined that the male student also took photos of the female students without their knowledge and posted those as well.
Additionally, the Wakefield Police Department investigated an allegation of sexual assault levied against the same male student.
Wakefield Police Detectives determined that the sexual assault claim was false and unfounded.
The names of all parties involved are being withheld due to their ages.
Wakefield Police Chief Skory met with the parents of students involved in this matter and strongly urged parents to have frank, open conversations with their children about social media.
“Our investigators determined that while the male student exercised poor judgment and engaged in questionable conduct, the matter did not meet the standard of a crime. Nevertheless, it should provide an opportunity for all of us to have an open and honest dialog with our children about how we treat one another and also about what we post online,” Chief Skory said in the statement.
It is unclear at this time if the male student will be returning to Wakefield High School following the concluded investigation.