Pic of two men kissing gets 8th grader Jail Time

Holiday, FL – What can a picture of two men kissing get you?  If you're an 8th grader in Florida, it will get you jail time.

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The Pasco County Sheriff's Office has charged Domanik Green, an eighth-grader at Paul R. Smith Middle School, with an offense against a computer system and unauthorized access, a felony. Sheriff Chris Nocco said Thursday that Green logged onto the school's network on March 31 using an administrative-level password without permission. He then changed the background image on a teacher's computer to one showing two men kissing.  – TampaBay.com

Should we put him in jail or should we sign him up for computer camp.  It must be difficult to hack into a school computer system, no?

Green says that his peers frequently use the admin password to video chat or screenshare on school computers. The code is easy to remember because it's just a last name. Green discovered it by watching a teacher type it in. Green was originally suspended from school for three days and other students were punished, too, but he was later arrested because the school deemed his infraction more serious. It is now overhauling its password system.- Slate.com

Did the student receive jail time for the content of the picture used or was it due to the presence of standardized testing or was it just the hack itself?  Here is a local news coverage clip.

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So, if the student had not placed the image onto the teacher's computer, he would not have been arrested.  See kids, gay kissing can land you in jail!  What if it was a picture of lions mating, Paris Hilton, or Stewie from Family Guy?  Would it have been as big of an issue?  Would it have been reported?  Did the subject matter of the picture lead to the situation's escalation?

Green was released on Wednesday from Land O'Lakes Detention Center into the custody of his mother. He'll likely be granted pretrial intervention by a judge, sheriff's detective Anthony Bossone said.  Green also received a 10-day school suspension. It's unclear if he'll return to Paul R. Smith to complete the school year after the suspension. – TampaBay.com

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Unfortunately this reminds me of an occurrence when I was a high school teacher.  A couple of students thought it would be hilarious to create a website about one of their least favorite teachers, a lesbian having a child with her life partner.  The website depicted the crucifixion of the teacher as well as the killing of her baby (unborn at the time of the website's creation).  The link was shared with hundreds of students.  School and legal authorities were involved, suspensions happened, counseling occurred, and the students returned to the school.  Most of the school was shocked to see the students back in the school system, but the rights of the students were more important.  After that incident, I never felt comfortable or protected teaching in that environment (that's another story) and many LGBT students felt betrayed by the administration.

But that was around 2004 and things were different then. Things are better now, right?

 

9 thoughts on “Pic of two men kissing gets 8th grader Jail Time”

  1. Anonymous is correct. How do

    Anonymous is correct. How do you know he wouldn't have got in trouble if it was a butterfly? All of you that are making an issue of the picture could be considered homophobes. It is simple, he hacked into the schools network. That is a serous crime. The teacher may have been negligent but the student chose to watch her type in the password and he chose to hack into the network. 

    Reply
  2. If a teacher was

    If a teacher was irresponsible enough to let a student see the password, then the teacher is at fault. There was no "hacking." The student should be disciplined, but in a way that fits the prank. This is so over the top. 

    Reply
  3. The kid had the password –

    The kid had the password – that is not hacking a system. And I agree the title is BS. Just more Queer over reaction.

    Reply
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  5. “So I logged out of that
    “So I logged out of that computer and logged into a different one and I logged into a teacher’s computer who I didn’t like and tried putting inappropriate pictures onto his computer to annoy him,” Green said.

    So why isn’t anyone asking why this kid thinks that a picture of two men kissing is inappropriate? The school isn’t the only one showing signs of homophobia here.

    Reply
    • No problem, but not a

      No problem, but not a misleading headline.  The pic did lead to the boy getting arrested.  And as asked in the blog, what if it were not "that type of pic," would there have been an issue?

      Reply
      • The content of the picture

        The content of the picture was not why he was arrested as indicated by your headline, it was his hacking into a secure school computer system. Get your facts straight if you want to be a 'real journalist' and not some gay queen stirring up shit.

        Reply
        • What is wrong with you?  Do

          What is wrong with you?  Do you really think if it was a picture of a butterfly he would have still been arrested?

          Reply
  6. How did a teacher even have

    How did a teacher even have the admin password for a student to see typing it?  Only the sysadmin should have the admin password, it should be changed periodically, and should be complex, not  simple, and especially not a name.  Sounds like they are letting this poor kid be the fall guy for their lax network security.  Sounds like someone's trying to save their own ass!

    Reply

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