Lake Stevens third-graders suspended for viewing, sharing porn

LAKE STEVENS — Two third grade students have been suspended from Sunnycrest Elementary School after finding and sharing pornographic images on a school computer.

A third-grade girl searched for sexually explicit images to show classmates, district spokeswoman Jayme Taylor said.

“She intentionally found and shared it,” she said. “That’s why disciplinary action was taken.”

A second student helped share the images with classmates and also was suspended, Taylor said. She declined to specify the second student’s gender. The district has not said how long the suspensions will last.

Administrators learned about the incident Monday afternoon. They notified families with students at Sunnycrest Elementary School via email Tuesday evening.

The district still is investigating what happened, including when the images were shared and how many students saw them, Taylor said. Students were not allowed to use computers at Sunnycrest Tuesday. Officials planned to let students use the computers Wednesday, but the system crashed due to an unrelated issue.

“All third grade accounts were scrubbed clean to make sure the content isn’t on there anymore,” Taylor said.

Lightspeed Systems, the company that manages the school district’s online filters, is working to plug any holes in the network that could let kids access inappropriate websites, she said.

The school district has computers that can be used by students from preschool to 12th grade, according to the 2014-15 parent handbook. There are computer labs in all elementary schools.

“In compliance with the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA), the district has in place an internet filtering solution that blocks access to inappropriate websites,” according to the handbook.

The software is designed to block pornography, gambling, obscene language, adult content, hateful or violent sites and URL shorteners.

“In this instance, the images were searchable and visible due to a change in the search engine that had not been updated by the filtering software company,” the district explained in a statement.

The Children’s Internet Protection Act of 2000 requires schools or libraries that receive discounts on Internet or internal connections to block content that could be harmful to children. Participating schools must show that they have a policy in place to block or filter access to pictures that are obscene, show child pornography or can be harmful to minors.

No student, especially a third-grader, should have access to explicit material at school, the Lake Stevens School District said in the statement.

“We are sincerely sorry that this happened,” administrators wrote in the email to parents. “The use of technology and the Internet are integral tools in the education of students, but nothing overrides the importance of your child’s safety while at Sunnycrest.”

Kari Bray: 425-339-3439, kbray@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Former Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy Jeremie Zeller appears in court for sentencing on multiple counts of misdemeanor theft Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ex-sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 1 week of jail time for hardware theft

Jeremie Zeller, 47, stole merchandise from Home Depot in south Everett, where he worked overtime as a security guard.

Everett
11 months later, Lake Stevens man charged in fatal Casino Road shooting

Malik Fulson is accused of shooting Joseph Haderlie to death in the parking lot at the Crystal Springs Apartments last April.

T.J. Peters testifies during the murder trial of Alan Dean at the Snohomish County Courthouse on Tuesday, March 26, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Bothell cold case trial now in jury’s hands

In court this week, the ex-boyfriend of Melissa Lee denied any role in her death. The defendant, Alan Dean, didn’t testify.

A speed camera facing west along 220th Street Southwest on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Washington law will allow traffic cams on more city, county roads

The move, led by a Snohomish County Democrat, comes as roadway deaths in the state have hit historic highs.

Mrs. Hildenbrand runs through a spelling exercise with her first grade class on the classroom’s Boxlight interactive display board funded by a pervious tech levy on Tuesday, March 19, 2024 in Marysville, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lakewood School District’s new levy pitch: This time, it won’t raise taxes

After two levies failed, the district went back to the drawing board, with one levy that would increase taxes and another that would not.

Alex Hanson looks over sections of the Herald and sets the ink on Wednesday, March 30, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Black Press, publisher of Everett’s Daily Herald, is sold

The new owners include two Canadian private investment firms and a media company based in the southern United States.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.