PEABODY— Superintendent of Schools Dr. Josh Vadala released a statement on Thursday that said an employee at Peabody High School has been placed on administrative leave, pending the outcome of an investigation into allegations of pornographic computer images shown to students during class.
“According to initial reports during a class on Monday, Feb. 7, an employee plugged their personal computer into a classroom projector and a series of explicit images from what appeared to be a Google-Image search were displayed on the screen,” Vadala said.
Multiple reports say the employee in question was a high-school teacher.
Following the incident, the employee was immediately placed on leave and the district began meeting with students and contacting parents. An internal investigation was launched by the district and consistent with its policies and procedures, the district contacted the Peabody Police Department.
As of Friday, the investigation is still ongoing per the superintendent’s office.
Peabody School Committee member Joe Amico said what happened at Peabody High School was unfortunate but said the response to the incident has been professionally handled.
“All the parties were notified about the incident,” Amico said. “I know the administration handled it properly and this was an unfortunate incident.”
Amico said the Police Department, Vadala and school staff are continuing to investigate the matter and have been in contact with each other since the incident.
Vadala said counseling and guidance will be available to students who have been affected by the incident and a review of how employees use their devices is currently underway.
“Counseling and guidance services have been made available to students affected by this incident,” he said. “The district is also actively reviewing its acceptable-use policy and its policies regarding the use of employees’ devices, including computers, in the classroom.”
