Two suburban teens have been charged with felonies following an investigation into fake Instagram accounts showcasing inappropriate photos of Edison Middle School students and staff.
According to a spokesman for the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s office, two 14-year-old boys were charged with four felonies, including two counts of harassment by electronic communication and two counts of obscenity. They were also charged with misdemeanor counts of obscenity, harassment by electronic communication, and transmission of obscene messages.
The charges were filed May 23, just days after the incident was first reported, spokesman Paul Darrah confirmed, but no further details surrounding the investigation were released.
The Instagram accounts reportedly featured manipulated photos showing subjects in inappropriate situations that were not true.
The photo incident was one of many reported around Chicago-area suburbs this year and is the second incident reported at Edison Middle School in the last month.
Officials said some eighth grade students were suspended late last week after inappropriate images surfaced in text messages and via social media.
A mother, who asked to remain anonymous to avoid revealing her daughter's identity, said her daughter was among the students punished, even though she was the victim.
"[The students] created three false Twitter accounts and used those false Twitter accounts to belittle and demean parts of her body," the mother said.
A spokeswoman for the school said all students involved were disciplined.
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Earlier in May, two Barrington Middle School students were charged with possession of child pornography in connection with a sexting scandal at the school.
Similar incidents were reported around the same time at Hadley Middle School in Will County and Rotolo Middle School in Batavia.
Despite a recently proposed bill aiming to automatically expunge the arrest records of some juveniles in Illinois, the charges filed against the Edison Middle School students would not qualify as they are Class 4 felonies.
The students will be tried in juvenile court. Their next hearing is scheduled for June 26.
