Police Have Access to Student Webcam Spy Pics
The plot thickens.
The ongoing case of the student webcam spying saga has hit the next chapter. Two IT employees of the Lower Merion school district who were in charge of the laptops were put on administrative leave with pay amidst the lawsuit launched by 15-year-old Harriton High School student Blake Robbins.
"The District generally does not comment on personnel matters, but we feel compelled to do so in the interest of two longtime staff members," district spokesman Doug Young said Friday, quoted by Main Line. "Placing them on administrative leave with pay is not a reflection of any wrongdoing on their part. It is a standard, prudent step in an investigation such as this one and it occurred in conjunction with the start of the review process nearly two weeks ago."
CNet also reports that attorney Charles Mandracchia explained that the IT staff were only authorized to enable the webcam at the request from the high school: "It was their duty to turn on the camera, but they would only do that if they received a request from the two high schools."
Mandracchia said that the pictures were "taken by the computer itself... every 15 minutes once the computer was open, but it was only supposed to be done if the computer was lost or stolen."
Since the lawsuit, the school district decided to disable this feature from its student laptop program. As for the pictures capture prior to the shut down, Mandracchia said that "they had a private Web site for some of these pictures for the Lower Marion Police Department to view and they were the only ones who could view it."
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lying basterds...just say out right that you wanted to see little children nekkid then chris hansen will take yaaway
"and they were the only ones who could view it."
I've love to see what kind of authentication mechanism was used.
This is why i put tape over my webcam. Stinkin perverts
i thought the pictures were taken in the first place because the laptops were registered as unpaid for. it all depends on whether the pictures taken when the laptop was registered as stolen at the time.
i bet those pics will be on /b/ within an hour. Then again they would only post them if they contain p0rn or are interesting.
@mrmoo500
exactly all this could have been avoided with a small 1 inch strip of electrical tape
If I knew I was being spied on with laptop cameras I'd make the best of it. I'd probably shave off my A** hair in front of it or put a nasty pic in front of it.
I have a feeling the school may have snapped photos not only illegally but that contain Child Porn and they therefore should be charged with Child Porn if any such photos qualify.
The truth will always prevail. All it takes is time. There is no doubt in my mind that there are perverted motives behind this mess. Just wait for everything to unravel itself and all involved will be in jail where they belong.
If I knew I was being spied on with laptop cameras I'd make the best of it. I'd probably shave off my A** hair in front of it or put a nasty pic in front of it.
I would start playing 'You spin me right round" as sung by Marilyn Manson. Then I'd start to spin my dick right round...
Wish I could get a month of paid leave at my work. =(
Pete Burns! Covers don't count =[
@mrmoo500exactly all this could have been avoided with a small 1 inch strip of electrical tape
I am so looking forward to this future where only smart and paranoid people are given the right to privacy.
what a bunch of liars..another instance where education administrations try to take control of all childrens' lives; but this one happens to be ten times more sickening.
Disgusting, oh and lets give the people accused a PAID VACATION.
So the school was making available to police information which the police should not have had access to without a search warrant and notification to the party involved in accordance with the law.
This is supposed to make their actions better? The people in the school districts who started and administered this program should be dealt with as the criminals that they are. The police who had access to this information should also be punished for circumventing the requirements of the law.
I think that while this looks incredibly suspicious, there is a small chance the school board is innocent... more info and the investigation is required.
I would be pissed if this happened to my son but im confident the truth will come out.
everyone is quick to pass judgment, with little to no details.
I will save my "execute them" comments until more evidence is provided.
I can't believe a school actually thought it was okay to install a feature that allowed them to see what the webcam was seeing. We are talking about high school boys and girls here aged 14-18. How many students open up their laptop then get dressed in the morning? Did the school just trust the IT department not to be perverted? That's outrageous.
And I have no sympathy for the IT guys either. If I was asked to spy on a student I would outright refuse to do it. If I was asked to install software that gave someone the ability to do it I would refuse to do it. The IT guys should be fired and whoever was involved in the decision to do this should also be fired.
BTW to everyone...
The tape thing is dumb! do you have a webcam? is it covered with tape right now? Why would you cover the camera with tape, i would never suspect a sudden pic would be taken. Yes, like many here i am a geek too!
BTW to everyone... The tape thing is dumb! do you have a webcam? is it covered with tape right now? Why would you cover the camera with tape, i would never suspect a sudden pic would be taken. Yes, like many here i am a geek too!
No tape on mine but it will just give someone an exciting and edifying view of my textured ceiling unless I am actually using it for something, which is seldom.
I have a feeling the school may have snapped photos not only illegally but that contain Child Porn and they therefore should be charged with Child Porn if any such photos qualify.
It is all about distribution. If they did not distribute the photos they are not at wrong. If a minor flashes a security camera are you going to charge the owner of the security camera of child porn? No, only if they redistribute it. "Taken by the computer itself... every 15 minutes once the computer was open, but it was only supposed to be done if the computer was lost or stolen." This is where they can get into privacy issues.
It is all about distribution. If they did not distribute the photos they are not at wrong. If a minor flashes a security camera are you going to charge the owner of the security camera of child porn? No, only if they redistribute it. "Taken by the computer itself... every 15 minutes once the computer was open, but it was only supposed to be done if the computer was lost or stolen." This is where they can get into privacy issues.
By posting the pictures to an "accessible" web-site they have met the criteria for "Distribution" that you mention.