Images depicting naked girls’ faces led to the departure of leaders of a Pennsylvania private school, sparked a student protest and sparked a criminal investigation.
A juvenile suspect was “removed” from Lancaster Country Day School and his cellphone was seized by investigators in August, Detective Laurel Bair of the Susquehanna Regional Police Department said Tuesday.
It’s the latest example of how the use of artificial intelligence to create or manipulate images of sexual content has become a concern, including in educational settings.
U.S. law enforcement has cracked down on computer-generated graphic depictions of children as well as manipulated photos of real children. The Justice Department says it is pursuing those who exploit AI tools and states are rushing to enact laws to address the problem.
A new Pennsylvania state law, which takes effect late next month, explicitly criminalizes the creation or dissemination of AI-generated child sexual exploitation material.
And South Korean police are waging a seven-month campaign to combat explicit deepfake content, with tougher penalties, increased use of undercover officers and increased regulation of social media. Concerns in South Korea intensified after unconfirmed lists of schools with casualties emerged earlier this year.
As part of the police investigation into what Lancaster Country Day School describes as “disturbing AI-generated photographs,” a search warrant was used this summer to obtain an iPhone 11 linked to a 15-year-old , according to court records. does not allow the teenager to be identified.
A woman told police that her daughter said a fellow student was “taking photos of students and using artificial intelligence (AI) technology to depict underage female students as nude,” according to a case affidavit probable used to request the search warrant. .
Matt Micciche, then the school’s principal, told police that the school received a complaint about the photos in November 2023 through the Safe2Say Something program, but the suspect, identified by his initials, denied the allegations, according to Bair’s affidavit.
When some parents learned of the photos in May, Bair wrote, they also learned that the “AI nude photographs” had been posted in a chat room.
Bair, who is leading the investigation because the suspect lives in Susquehanna Regional Police territory, said the school was in shock “that this happened and that it happened within their small community.” She declined to say how many girls were shown in the images, but added that more information about the case would likely be made public in the next two weeks.
Erik Yabor, a spokesperson for Lancaster County District Attorney Heather Adams, said Tuesday that Lancaster County prosecutors had no comment on the ongoing investigation.
A spokesperson for Attorney General Michelle Henry’s office said the agency was unable to talk about specific tips or reports sent to the Safe2Say Something platform, which receives anonymous reports from students and others people regarding security threats.
“Typically, our team takes the tips and sends them to the appropriate law enforcement or school personnel for review,” Brett Hambright said. “We have confirmed that this was done regarding the subject you inquired about.”
The Lancaster LNP reported that most high school-aged students at Lancaster Country Day staged a walkout on Friday, November 8, marching around campus and chanting, “Listen to us. Recognize us. Come see us.” School was canceled Monday.
LNP said the school indicated Friday that it had “parted ways” with Micciche and that board chair Angela Ang-Alhadeff had resigned. The Associated Press left telephone messages for them seeking comment Tuesday. A letter Monday to the school community from the Lancaster Country Day board said it was working to replace them and was “still finalizing the resolution of the matter.”
“What we can say is that over the past week the Board of Directors has been made aware of information that has led us to make the decision to resolve the issue,” the board wrote. administration, including acting “in the best interests of the girls who have been impacted and in the best interests of the school in the long term.
The school said counseling has been offered to students and the institution is reviewing reporting procedures, safety practices and other policies regarding student safety.
