Investigate Child Pornography in Your School and Get Charged with Possession

A judge finally has dismissed child pornography charges against Bradley Bass, a Colorado school principal who investigated nude images that students were sending to each other. When he learned that students were sharing images of another student via SnapChat, he became concerned that the students could delete the evidence remotely. So he took pictures of the images on the students’ phones before calling police.

The police responded by charging him and the vice principal with possession of child pornography. Colorado’s statute makes it illegal to possess pornographic images of children, and intent does not matter. The only exception is for law enforcement. Because Mr. Bass was conducting an internal investigation and was not a member of law enforcement, the exception did not apply to him.

A judge nevertheless dismissed charges a few weeks ago, finding that the principal had acted in good faith while conducting his investigation. Although Mr. Bass eventually was vindicated, he spent quite a bit of time on suspension and had to hire an attorney to handle his defense.

There are two takeaways from this incident for youth organizations. First, know the laws in your state. Statutes drafted to catch every possible perpetrator also can sweep in well-intentioned people trying to protect children. Second, be careful that your internal investigation does not drift onto law enforcement’s turf. You have to ask enough questions to know whether you need to report concerns, but after that, you may have to wait for law enforcement to finish its investigation. If someone else destroys evidence, then the law, as in Colorado, may make it someone else’s problem. Don’t let an overzealous prosecutor turn your good intentions into criminal charges.