Detectives are investigating allegations that Mountain View High students used social media to share naked images of classmates without their permission.
The case involves two victims and “a handful of suspects,” said Katie Nelson, Mountain View Police Department spokeswoman. She declined to provide additional information about the individuals involved because the victims and the suspects are all minors, and the incident involves a sex crime.
“At this time, we’re kind of wrapping up the case, but charges are yet to be determined as far as what anyone may face,” Nelson said.
A San Francisco Chronicle article published Monday indicated that students from additional South Bay schools may be involved, but Nelson could neither confirm nor deny that statement due to the ongoing nature of the investigation.
Nelson said Mountain View High officials notified the police department in late August to report inappropriate photos uploaded to Dropbox, an online file-sharing service. Detectives have been in contact with all of the victims, suspects and anyone who may have knowingly or unknowingly shared the Dropbox link, which has since been disabled. All involved were offered counseling provided by a third party.
The next step is for detectives to present the case to the district attorney, Nelson said, and the consequences for anyone charged could range from community service to diversion programs and incarceration. Officials will initially present the case in juvenile court, however, due to the suspects’ age.
Social media abuse
Mountain View High Principal David Grissom said he could not comment on the case due to the investigation, but he noted that the school recently hosted an internet safety presentation for parents of both Mountain View and Los Altos High students. He estimates that approximately 200 community members attended and heard from representatives of the Mountain View and Los Altos police departments as well as the district attorney’s office. In a message posted to the Mountain View High website advertising the Nov. 29 session, school district Clinical Services Coordinator Susan Flatmo lamented the growing number of students making poor decisions when it comes to social media.
“We are especially concerned about three online domains: the world of porn; online communities that glamorize depression, self-harm and suicide; and excessive gaming,” Flatmo wrote.
Social media abuse is not simply a Mountain View High concern, Grissom said, and the presentation was “in response to what we as educators are seeing with the online behavior of our students. It hasn’t been one particular situation, but what we’re seeing in total.”
In October, Mountain View Police detectives arrested three Mountain View High students for making terrorist-type threats via Snapchat, a video-based messaging app in which content disappears after 24 hours. All three suspects, minors, were released under supervision and have been ordered to complete community service, Nelson said.
That case and a second involving a recent Los Altos High School graduate arrested on possession of child pornography charges in August are in no way connected to the Dropbox case, Nelson said.
Paraphrasing Capt. Chris Hsiung, who is working the Dropbox case, Nelson remarked how society takes great care when safeguarding new teen drivers yet the dangers of social media – so accessible now that many young people own smartphones — sometimes get overlooked; Dropbox is just one of a multitude of apps that can be discreetly accessed via a mobile device, whether it be a phone or a tablet.
“When it comes to cellphones, however, we don’t – parents or anyone – always think of the ramifications,” she said.
