Cherokee County

Some people searching Google for local school were instead redirected to porn website

CHEROKEE COUNTY, Ga. — Cherokee County school officials and the sheriff's office are investigating a computer porn incident.

It targeted Cherokee High School on Marietta Highway in Canton.

School system officials stress the school's website was not hacked but there was a problem involving Google.

Some people searching for the school ended up on a porn site.

Parents reacted in shock when Channel 2 Action News told them about a computer porn incident with someone targeting the school.

When people used Google Maps' "My Business" profile to search for the school Monday and early Tuesday, they were instead directed to a site with adult material.

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"They need to be aware that if it is a student, that this is nothing to play with, porn is not anything to play with,” said parent Amy Stone.

A spokesperson for the Cherokee County school district sent Channel 2 Action News a statement saying, "The school's website was never compromised. The issue was with Google's profile for the school, which had been changed without permission or notice to CCSD."

School officials contacted Google immediately to resolve the issue.

Parents aren't sure if it was a prank, or something more sinister.

"I would think that somebody hacked in just for because they want to let the children of the school see something they should not be looking at,” said parent Kathy Law. "This is part of the reason we keep our kids homeschooled it's just to try to protect them a little bit."

Parents hope investigators find the person who did it.

"Hopefully they catch the person that did this and that they face serious consequences for their action and realize how much damage this could do,” Stone said. "I can't imagine somebody doing that."