Parents, Students Protest Return Of Suspended Wakefield High School Teen In Photo Scandal
WAKEFIELD (CBS) - A second protest was held outside Wakefield High School Monday morning over the school's handling of a student who allegedly posted inappropriate photos of 13 teenage girls online.
Hundreds of the pictures were found on the social media site Discord in October. Parents said the photos were taken without the girls' knowledge and that the post called for users to rank the images. Some were for sale.
Parents of the 13 girls told WBZ-TV the boy accused of posting the pictures was suspended and that he was scheduled to return to school Monday. They later received an email saying the unidentified student would not be back on Monday. However, they're frustrated they don't have more information about a possible return date for the student.
Parents & students in #Wakefield are back out protesting in front of the high school. A student accused of taking inappropriate photos of 13 girls was set to return today. Parents of the girls say they received an email saying the student is no longer returning today @wbz pic.twitter.com/4lswFVel3f
— Anna Meiler (@AnnaMeiler) November 22, 2021
Dozens of people came out to protest Friday and another crowd was back again Monday morning before classes started. They're concerned about the student being back in the building and feel he hasn't faced harsh enough consequences.
"We're fearful that in two weeks we'll be getting an email that the student will be returning and then we're going to have to go through this all again. The girls will have to go through this again. A lot of these girls have suffered a lot of mental anguish," father Robert Imbriano told WBZ Monday.
"That doesn't make the kids feel any safer that at any day he could come back, that my child has to sit in class and fear that one day he's going to walk through the door," mother Holly Forti said.
"We shouldn't have to be fighting for something that is just a human civil right, to feel safe in education and yes, he has a right to education, but I believe it does not have to take place at Wakefield High School," student Izzy Buckley told WBZ.
Parents are also frustrated with what they say has been a lack of communication from the school. The school has said that privacy rules prevent them from saying much about the situation publicly.
The administration sent an email to parents last Thursday, saying they immediately began working with Wakefield Police when they learned of the student's serious and inappropriate use of social media in October.
An internet safety expert will be working with students in the coming months, according to the administration.