A newly revealed police investigation into boys sharing photographs of their feminine classmates in Dover-Sherborn faculties has sparked neighborhood considerations associated to youngster exploitation and new expertise.
“Sexual assault, harassment, or manipulation is never OK,” mentioned State Sen. Rebecca Rausch, who’s district consists of Dover and Sherborn. … “As a mom and a lawmaker, I believe this incident further proves the need for comprehensive, age-appropriate, inclusive sex education that reflects today’s society, including the potential dangers and harms of modern technology.”
The controversial incident got here to mild this week after a neighborhood College Committee member circulated an electronic mail warning dad and mom AI-generated express photographs of center and highschool women might have been created. Responses have been issued Wednesday by the Dover police and Dover-Sherborn Superintendent, who warned the unique electronic mail contained statements that have been “not factual and could be misleading.”
A police investigation into the September 2024 incident revealed male college students “possessed and potentially shared images of clothed middle school girls from publicly available photos” and one boy “disseminated these photos of clothed students and included additional nude pictures of an unknown origin in these messages,” the Dover Police Chief mentioned.
Costs have been introduced by means of the juvenile court docket system, however Superintendent Elizabeth McCoy mentioned they have been ultimately dismissed.
McCoy additional mentioned an impartial investigator was presently reviewing the state of affairs for bullying, Title IX or different violations.
Rausch mentioned her “heart is with the survivors and their families, and I hope they have found the help they need.” The senator famous younger folks in want of help can textual content the confidential and nameless peer-to-peer youth psychological well being textual content line, Hey Sam.
The incident comes because the state Legislature considers a invoice, HB 1931, aiming to “enhance protections against child exploitation and misuse of emerging technologies.”
The invoice, filed by Rep. Francisco Paulino of Methuen, updates language in statutes associated to youngster pornography and exploitative materials to incorporate photographs generated by synthetic intelligence or computer-generated applied sciences. The provisions additionally create a activity power on exploitative applied sciences to observe developments in these types of AI and different applied sciences and deal with enforcement of regulation.
The invoice was referred to the Joint Committee on the Judiciary in February.
