A Colorado town is in the grips of a scandal after "hundreds" of sexting photos were found to be circulating at Cañon City High School.
The Associated Press reports that "it could take a month to sort the offenders from the victims" in the case. Officials canceled the school's final football game of the season over the incident, saying it was likely "enough football players were involved" that "the team should [not] represent the community," the wire reported.
Some of the photos were evidently discovered in what the Cañon City Daily Record's Sarah Rose describes as a "photo vault app that disguised itself as other applications," including an "audio manager" and a calculator.
An unspecified number of students have already been suspended, and the photos apparently include individuals as young as eighth graders, the AP said. Girls and boys were involved. According to US News, the school has just over 1,000 students.
Principal Bret Meuli told the Daily Record it was unclear whether any photos were taken at the school or for how long the sexting has been occurring. "The community needs to work together to heal," he said.
Possessing explicit photos of minors is a felony in Colorado, and some students could face charges that could lead to them having to register as sex offenders.
But authorities said they plan to file charges only if “absolutely necessary,” a prosecutor told the AP.
Rob covers business, economics and the environment for Fusion. He previously worked at Business Insider. He grew up in Chicago.