Elgin student charged with videotaping others in bathroom
An 18-year-old Elgin student was charged with unlawfully videotaping two students in a high school bathroom, authorities said Thursday.
Steffon L. Pruitt, of the 500 block of Owasco Avenue, appeared Thursday in the Elgin branch of Kane County bond court and was charged with one count of unlawful recording of a person younger than 18 in a restroom, Elgin Police Cmdr. Glenn Theriault said in a news release.
Pruitt video recorded on his cellphone two underage students who engaged in "an inappropriate activity" during school hours on Monday in a bathroom at Larkin High School, Theriault said.
He declined to specify what kind of activity, and said the students didn't know they were being recorded.
One of the students later found out about the recording, and that Pruitt might have forwarded the video to other students. The student told school officials, who contacted Elgin police, Theriault said.
Theriault said Pruitt forwarded the video to at least another person.
Pruitt was arrested Tuesday, Theriault said. He was released on his own recognizance and has a 9 a.m. May 16 court date at the Kane County Judicial Center in St. Charles.
Elgin Area School District U-46 spokesman Pat Mogge said school officials found out about the recording the same day it happened. Mogge said he was not aware of any similar incidents taking place in the past.
There have been two recent cases of students using technology to disseminate inappropriate pictures.
Two Barrington middle school students face child pornography charges after police said they texted sexually explicit photos and video of a fellow student to a large group of classmates, authorities announced last week.
No criminal charges will be filed against six to seven students from Rotolo Middle School in Batavia who took nude photos of themselves and sent them to other students, authorities said Tuesday.
"It has been unfortunate to read about events like this in the newspaper or in the media over the past week," Theriault said.
"Hopefully this will spark a conversation between parents and children about their children's behaviors, and the harm that can come when it becomes public."