Prosecutor declines charges in county-wide sexting scandal

MARQUETTE — Marquette County Prosecutor Matt Wiese has declined to authorize criminal charges in relation to a county-wide sexting scandal involving hundreds of high school students at local schools.

The investigation conducted by the Michigan State Police concluded students from Gwinn, Ishpeming, Marquette, Negaunee, Republic and Westwood schools were all involved in using social media to transmit sexually explicit images of each other.

In a statement, Prosecutor Wiese said “This activity technically could be considered child sexually abusive material and using a computer to commit a crime. This type of activity by high school students, although clearly inappropriate, is not what the law intended to criminalize.”

MSP D/Sgt. Jay Peterson will be meeting with school superintendents this week to discuss a plan going forward and bring the investigation to a conclusion. Both Peterson and Wiese encourage parents to talk to their children about exchanging sexually explicit photos or videos.