When Pennsylvania police investigate alleged possession and distribution of child pornography, they are usually searching for people who intentionally download or share images or photos. However, students at one local high school may face felony child pornography charges if they do not surrender their yearbooks.

When the yearbooks were distributed, it was discovered that there was an inappropriate picture in the yearbook. In the background of a picture, two students are engaging in a sexual activity. According to an article in ABC News, a 15-year-old girl and a 17-year-old boy were "engaged in a sex act that may have involved penetration."

When the picture was discovered, school officials ordered the students to bring their books back to school and turn them in. The officials planned on removing the picture and replacing it with a new page.

However, when the officials discovered their mistake, it was the high school students who were threatened. Students were called into the office and asked whether they had their yearbooks with them. Students were told that if they did not exchange their yearbooks that they could be charged with felony sex crimes for possessing child pornography.

Naturally, the students and their parents were upset by the way the school authorities tried to resolve the matter.

One of the football coaches at the high school said he was angry at the way the students were addressed. "I know a lot of the kids that were threatened...a lot of them were very upset with the threats."

The students had every reason to be upset. If they were convicted of felony charges, they could face a lifetime on the sex offender registry. Hopefully the school authorities were able to resolve the problem before endangering or threatening the freedom of any more of their students.

Source: ABC News, "Child Porn Found in School Yearbook," Christina Caron, 17 June 2011