Principal: Students at a N.H. high school have been secretly taking pictures of girls’ body parts and putting them on trading cards

High school students in Bedford, New Hampshire, allegedly snapped inappropriate photographs of girls’ body parts, graded them, and circulated them to their peers in the form of trading cards, according to school officials.  

In a message to families Friday, Superintendent Michael Fournier said a group of freshman and sophomore boys had taken pictures of 11th and 12th-grade girls without their knowledge. Bedford High School Principal Bob Jozokos sent an email to parents saying the photos were of the girls’ breasts and buttocks and that some of the students created trading cards with the photos that included “grades” of the girls’ bodies. 

“This is absolutely inappropriate behavior and not expected of our students,” Jozokos wrote in the email, which was provided to the New Hampshire Union Leader. “The students involved with this behavior can expect to have a meeting with their parents here at school; a Saturday School, in-school suspension, or out-of-school suspension depending upon the level of their involvement; and a suspension from any athletic team or organization based on the procedures in the Athletic and Organizations Handbook.”

It’s not clear how many students and victims were involved in the incident. 

According to a WMUR report, school officials interviewed 35 students Friday, and two of the photos were shared with administrators. In those photos, girls wore swimsuits, shorts, or tops. Jozokos said at least two students received the images, though more may have seen the photos through the Snapchat app.

As news spread of the incident, so did anger among local students and parents who felt further action should be taken.

A Change.org petition created by a Bedford High 12th grader calls for permanent expulsion of the boys. As of Saturday, the petition had collected over 2,500 signatures of its 5,000-signature goal.

“We are not a toy for your son to play with, nor a piece of paper that can be traded like a Pokémon card,” wrote Kristen Caldwell, the petition’s creator. “A temporary absence from school was the greatest extent taken by authorities for exploiting teen girls, and distributing inappropriate images of these teen girls without their knowledge. These students deserve to be expelled. Why are issues such as these, treating women as sex objects, not being taken more seriously?”

Community members are expected to discuss the incident at a Monday night Bedford School Board meeting.