WAKEFIELD (CBS) – A large group of parents and students gathered outside Wakefield High School on Friday morning to protest the return of a student they believe is a danger to others. The man allegedly took inappropriate photos of about a dozen girls without their knowledge and posted them on social media.
Signs read “school should feel safe” and “how would you feel if it were your daughter?” held by members of the crowd.
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According to the parents of some of the girls, hundreds of these photos were found on Discord in October. The post urged users to rate the photos, and some were for sale.
“Those are very inappropriate photos, some taken at the beach, some taken inside the classroom, mostly the back of them,” parent Lisa Auffrey said. speak. “This is emotionally taxing for them. It was a big disruption. ”
“These pictures were taken without their consent, they didn’t even know what was going on,” parent Robert Imbriano said. “From the very beginning, it was very traumatic for my daughter.”
Parents told WBZ-TV that the student allegedly photographed would return to school on Monday. They were concerned he would return to the building and felt he had not yet faced the consequences harsh enough.
“We understand he has a right to an education, but unfortunately at this point we think that education should be elsewhere,” said Imbriano.
Parents are also frustrated with the lack of communication from school officials.
“This was a month ago, this came to light and now the general manager has just released a statement?” Auffrey asked the question.
School officials emailed parents on Thursday, saying they immediately began working with Wakefield Police when they became aware of the student’s serious and inappropriate use of social media on Thursday. October.
They wrote: “We want to reassure you that extensive steps have been taken to maintain a safe school environment. We will continue to promptly and proactively address any threats to student privacy, safety, and well-being. This is still an ongoing case with the Wakefield Police Department, and we remain fully committed to supporting the police department’s ongoing work.”
An internet safety specialist will be working with students in the coming months.
“I think the school has let us down and disrespected all the girls here for our safety,” one student said.
“All the girls stood up to talk to the school and they did nothing. They’re trying to make themselves look better in some way and that’s really frustrating for all of us who don’t feel safe in school,” another girl said.
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Parents said they plan to hold another protest at the high school on Monday morning.
