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Nude Photo Site May Include BHS, Eureka, East Peoria Students

This is a screen capture of the web site in question.
Staff
/
WGLT
This is a screen capture of the web site in question.
This is a screen capture of the web site in question.
Credit Staff / WGLT
/
WGLT
This is a screen capture of the web site in question.

District 87 Superintendent Barry Reilly calls the news absolutely deplorable that there is a web site that offers trading of nude photos purportedly of Bloomington High School students.

An NBC TV Chicago investigative reportdocuments 67 Illinois high schools with folders on the site. Reilly said the district had been unaware of the problem before the story broke.

"We have alerted our local authorities and obviously if we have any news of any impact on any current student, which I have not heard that, obviously we would be in contact with families and the local authorities as well," said Reilly.

Reilly said in today's world there is a lot about society that needs work related to the internet. He said that kind of conduct is arguably worse than cyber-bullying.

You have some few individuals out there who will engage in these types of negative behaviors out there on the internet. It's unfortunate. It's absolutely deplorable," said Reilly.

Reilly said District 87 has no plans to do its own investigation. He says that belongs to local police and perhaps more than local, but the district is concerned any time its name is attached to such matters.    

East Peoria and Eureka High Schools reportedly also are mentioned on the web site. Some of the folders holding images were established at least three years ago. Some of the students depicted were underage when the images were made.

The site itself is hosted outside the U.S.

Bloomington Police say District 87 notified them on Wednesday May 17. A spokesman said details are not known to BPD because requests from the District to NBC5 to gain specifics have gone unanswered. The spokesman said if and when BPD is given more information the Criminal Investigations Division can proceed forward.

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Copyright 2021 WGLT. To see more, visit WGLT.

Charlie Schlenker is the news director at WGLT in Bloomington-Normal.