Parents arrested after demanding answers about porn on school computer
NORTH BABYLON, Long Island -- Parents of a child in the North Babylon school district were arrested for criminal trespassing after demanding answers as to how their son was exposed to pornography on a school computer.
School administrators said they were unable to provide them with an incident report, as the matter was under investigation. The family refused to leave the property until they were given one, and that's when they were arrested.
Gregory and Kristen Pitre spoke exclusively to Eyewitness News reporter Kristin Thorne.
"Why would you have parents taken away in handcuffs when they're trying to discuss a serious issue with you?" Gregory Pitre said.
Kristen Pitre said that last Wednesday, her third-grade son was doing a science report on a computer at Parliament Place Elementary School when a boy next to him started looking at pornographic images. He came home and told his parents.
"I felt so bad for him," Gregory Pitre said. "And the confusion on his face is what really gets you as a parent."
Kristen Pitre said she immediately went to the classroom, accompanied by the school's principal, and was able to look at dozens of pornographic images on a computer.
"The pit in my stomach that came to fruition was how many children saw this besides my son?" Kristen Pitre said.
North Babylon School District Superintendent Glen Eschbach released the following statement to parents.
"As a result of a thorough diagnostic assessment, it was determined that our filtering system had failed to properly block a specific website. The District immediately put additional internet safety precautions in place that would prevent access to this site and any of its nature. These actions include, limiting the search engines available to students and staff, utilizing Google Safe Search, and monitoring district filters twice a day through manual review by our technology department. Please know that the well-being of our students is our utmost concern and top priority when educating our students."
And this is not the first time this has happened. Eyewitness News spoke exclusively with another mother who said a similar incident happened to her son last year at the school. The woman didn't want to appear on camera, but she said her son was watching a PowerPoint presentation in class when a pornographic ad popped up on the screen.
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