Lowell middle school teacher charged with sending nude photo to teen

LOWELL - A middle school teacher in Lowell is accused of sending a partially nude photo of himself to a 16-year-old boy he knows using Snapchat, authorities said Wednesday.

Jaryd Palmer, a 34-year-old Andover resident, is charged with disseminating obscene matter to a minor. 

"The defendant was arrested yesterday by Tewksbury Police after the parents of a 16-year-old boy reported to police that their son had been communicating with Palmer over Snapchat and that the defendant had allegedly sent him a photo of his genitals," Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan and Tewksbury Police Chief Ryan Columbus said in a statement. "The juvenile reportedly asked the defendant not to send him Snapchats of that nature and took a screenshot of the image before reporting it to his parents."   

Investigators determined that Palmer is "currently working as a middle school teacher in Lowell Public Schools," and he's listed as a sixth grade math teacher on the Robinson Middle School website. He writes that he has taught for the past seven years in communities around Lowell.

A judge set bail for Palmer at $500 and ordered him to have no contact with the victim, as well as no unsupervised contact with children. He's due back in Lowell District Court on July 1. 

Ryan says the case is a good reminder to parents that it's important to talk about social media safety with their children.