A newly revealed police investigation into boys sharing images of their female classmates in Dover-Sherborn schools has sparked community concerns related to child exploitation and new technology.

“Sexual assault, harassment, or manipulation is never OK,” said State Sen. Rebecca Rausch, who’s district includes Dover and Sherborn. … “As a mom and a lawmaker, I believe this incident further proves the need for comprehensive, age-appropriate, inclusive sex education that reflects today’s society, including the potential dangers and harms of modern technology.”

The controversial incident came to light this week after a local School Committee member circulated an email warning parents AI-generated explicit images of middle and high school girls could have been created. Responses were issued Wednesday by the Dover police and Dover-Sherborn Superintendent, who warned the original email contained statements that were “not factual and could be misleading.”

A police investigation into the September 2024 incident revealed male students “possessed and potentially shared images of clothed middle school girls from publicly available photos” and one boy “disseminated these photos of clothed students and included additional nude pictures of an unknown origin in these messages,” the Dover Police Chief said.

Charges were brought through the juvenile court system, but Superintendent Elizabeth McCoy said they were eventually dismissed.

McCoy further said an independent investigator was currently reviewing the situation for bullying, Title IX or other violations.

Rausch said her “heart is with the survivors and their families, and I hope they have found the help they need.” The senator noted young people in need of support can text the confidential and anonymous peer-to-peer youth mental health text line, Hey Sam.

The incident comes as the state Legislature considers a bill, HB 1931, aiming to “enhance protections against child exploitation and misuse of emerging technologies.”

The bill, filed by Rep. Francisco Paulino of Methuen, updates language in statutes related to child pornography and exploitative material to include images generated by artificial intelligence or computer-generated technologies. The provisions also create a task force on exploitative technologies to monitor advancements in these sorts of AI and other technologies and address enforcement of law.

The bill was referred to the Joint Committee on the Judiciary in February.