Southington Students Offered Diversionary Program in 'Inappropriate' Messaging Case

SOUTHINGTON, CT — A total of 14 local middle school students have been referred to a alternative disciplinary program for sharing what police have termed inappropriate electronic messages.

The students are all younger than 18 and have been referred to the Juvenile Review Board, a community-based diversionary program that provides an alternative to the court system, police said.

There were no charges associated with the referrals as the acts were deemed to be a “delinquent" and not criminal police said.

The names of the students are not being released because of their juvenile status, police said.

The investigation started on May 12, after an "anonymous adult" reported to DePaolo Middle School administrators that there were naked photos on a juvenile’s phone, police said.

During the course of the investigation it was learned that students from both Southington middle schools —DePaolo and JFK — began sharing inappropriate text messages and images with each other via social media.

The investigation is complete as of Thursday, police said.

Patch File Photo