MARQUETTE, MI-- Marquette County Prosecutor Matt Wiese released the following statement on Tuesday, April 4, 2017:
Marquette County Prosecuting Attorney Matt Wiese has declined to issue criminal charges in an
investigation involving hundreds of high school students in Marquette County. The investigation conducted by Detective Sergeant Jay Peterson of the Michigan State Police involves Gwinn, Ishpeming, Marquette, Negaunee, Republic, and Westwood schools. School officials and district superintendents have cooperated with the investigation that involves hundreds of students using social media to transmit sexually explicit images of each other.
“This investigation began with a few students and quickly expanded to multiple school districts involving hundreds of students” said Peterson. Peterson further stated, “Superintendents, principals, students, and parents have cooperated with surrendering phones and other electronic devices so that the explicit material could be removed.”
According to Wiese, “this activity technically could be considered child sexually abusive material, and using a computer to commit a crime.” However, according to Wiese, “this type of activity by high school students, although certainly inappropriate, is not what the law intended to criminalize. I am confident that parents and school officials will give this matter the attention it deserves, and impress upon area teenagers that this behavior is inappropriate, and could potentially be considered criminal,” said Wiese.
Peterson will be meeting with school superintendents this week to discuss a plan going forward and to bring this investigation to a conclusion. Discussions are ongoing to raise public awareness among community youth and possibly offer a program or assembly for students.
Both Wiese and Peterson encourage parents to talk to their children about exchanging sexually explicit photos or videos and to become aware that social media can “normalize” this type of behavior. Peterson stated, “Be aware that although the images may seem to disappear from the phone or device, they remain on the servers of the social media platform used by students.” “My investigation revealed that once the image was released, the student who is depicted lost total control of who else shared that image, where it went, and who could view the image,” said Peterson
