HENRY COUNTY, Ga. — Henry County police are warning students about the serious trouble they can get into if they stream porn during online classes.
It comes after a high school student shared “inappropriate imagery” during a remote class. Henry County Schools told Channel 2′s Matt Johnson that the student is now being disciplined.
The Henry County Police Department posted a warning for parents on its Facebook page, saying: "If you stream pornography, nudity, or any sexual acts in an online class -- this is a crime."
"Talk to your kids. This is not a joke. They could face manufacture and distribution of of child pornography charges and have to register a sex offender."
Alli Neal works to prevent children from sexual abuse through her nonprofit Revved Up Kids.
“They do it impulsively, and they do it a lot of times to be funny or to get a rise out of the group, but they have no idea the can of worms that they’re opening when they do it,” Neal said. “A few kids are going to get in really big trouble as examples to all the other kids.”
She said the disturbing trend of students interrupting virtual classes with pornography is a form of abuse, whether the children know it or not.
“If you’re a victim of sexual abuse, and you see someone posting that stuff as a joke, how hurtful that is? How triggering that can be?” Neal said.
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And then there's the impact that it could have on a younger classroom — like the one Gwenda Blouin's 12-year-old granddaughter is in.
She said she was horrified when pornography suddenly popped up during her granddaughter’s sixth grade remote class with Riverdale Middle School.
“It was actually a porn video,” Blouin said. “To have her exposed to something like that even before we tell her about the birds and the bees, that’s pretty upsetting.”
She said the teacher eventually got it off the screen, but she worried not enough people are aware it can happen.
“I know it’s hard, but we’ve got to monitor these kids. We have to,” Blouin said.
Willis McDonald said school districts have mostly adjusted to protect against hackers getting in the classroom.
Now he said districts need to make sure teachers are trained to lock down the classrooms from the inside.
“This is probably the worst place to have this happen,” McDonald said. “There’s a way to prevent other students or other people in the meeting from showing their screen, as well as setting passwords in meetings to prevent others from joining in on the meeting.”
Neal said before children are even on the computer, the way to prevent this is for parents to have an honest talk with their children.
“Unless someone is spelling it out for them, they don’t know any better, and they have no idea the larger implication of what can happen if they do this,” Neal said.
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