Middle school’s virtual meeting displayed pornographic images in Beaufort, police say

This story was updated on Nov. 3 to reflect that the meeting was for eighth-grade students and school staff at Robert Smalls International Academy and Beaufort, Whale Branch and Lady’s Island middle schools.

A virtual meeting Tuesday with eighth-graders at four middle schools and school staff was interrupted by an “unknown person” who displayed pornographic images, according to a report from the Beaufort Police Department.

The meeting took place around 6 p.m. Tuesday over Zoom, the video conference software program, to help eighth-graders at Robert Smalls International Academy and Beaufort, Whale Branch and Lady’s Island middle schools in their transition to high school next year, the report said.

The images were shared with the group of 14-year-olds and Beaufort County Schools staff toward the end of the meeting. The meeting ended immediately after the photos were shared, according to police.

A flash drive with the IP addresses of everyone who attended the meeting was given to police, the report said. The Beaufort Police Department is investigating, according to spokesperson Capt. George Erdel. It is unclear whether a student displayed the photos as a prank or a hacker posing as a student infiltrated the meeting, according to Erdel.

“I’m sure either is an alternative at this point,” Erdel said.

Beaufort County School District spokesperson Candace Bruder declined to comment on the incident, saying it was an active law enforcement investigation.

The school district did send an email to eighth grade families stating that a police investigation was taking place and asking that Zoom links “not be posted to social media or shared with any outside individuals who are not invited participants to any given session.”

Anyone with information regarding this incident may call (843) 322-7938.

This story was originally published October 28, 2021 at 6:01 PM.