Photograph prompts shutdown of Wauconda High student email system

Wauconda High School's student email system was temporarily shut down Tuesday after a former student emailed current students an inappropriate photograph, officials said.

The picture was sent from the ex-student's school email account to about 1,400 recipients, Wauconda Unit District 118 Superintendent Daniel Coles said. The former student's account has since been suspended.

As soon as administrators learned about the photograph Tuesday night, the technology department shut down all student email accounts, Coles said. The system went back online about two hours later, Coles said.

The person who sent the email had transferred from Wauconda High to a different school, Coles said. No other information was available about the person.

School officials notified parents of the issue in an email Tuesday night. The message included an apology "for the grossly inappropriate and intentional misuse of school email."

The message urged parents not to respond to the former student's email or to resend the image.

District officials are investigating and police have been notified, Coles said. Interim Police Chief Thomas Bender couldn't be reached for comment.