Police: No Criminal Charges Brought Against Middle Schoolers Who Shared Nude Photos

No criminal charges will be filed against Batavia middle school students accused of  taking nude photos of themselves and then disseminating the pictures over social media, according to police. 

The Batavia Police Department has concluded its investigation into the reports of the explicit photos of students disseminated at Rotolo Middle School, according to a police department press release. The photos were reported on April 30. 

And while no criminal charges will be brought against the students, the school district could still decide to take disciplinary action against the students, according to the news release.  

Police said if disciplinary action is taken, it will be handled by the school district and details would released due to school district policy. Parents of the students involved will be contacted through the school district and notified of the results of the investigation. 

Moving forward, the Batavia Public School District 101 will focus on creating educational programming that will focus on the learning process, according to the news release. 

"Both the Batavia Police Department and Batavia School District take the incident very seriously," according to the news release. Programs set up by the school district in cooperation with the Batavia Police Department will educate students and parents on the proper and improper use of social media and its consequences." 

Both the Batavia School District and Batavia Police Department urge parents to regularly discuss the uses and consequences of social media and texting on cell phones with their children. 

The above information was updated on May 5. 
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE POSTED ON APRIL 30: Authorities have launched an investigation after some Batavia middle school students took nude photographs of themselves and disseminated them over social media, according to a press release.

The Batavia Public School District is working with the Batavia Police Department to conduct the investigation, Superintendent Lisa Hichens wrote in the release. She said it was too early to say whether criminal charges would be filed, or whether the school district would take disciplinary actions.

"We will release more information when it becomes available," Hichens said. "In the meantime, parents are urged to use this incident as an opportunity for discussion with their students about appropriate technology use. Under the State of Illinois Law (sexting), taking lewd or indecent photos of oneself and distributing them via an electronic communication device is illegal. Furthermore, any student that is a recipient of lewd or indecent photos can also be held accountable under state law."