Calabasas teen says classmate not disciplined for sharing real and fake nude images of her

Josh Haskell Image
Friday, March 15, 2024
Calabasas student accuses classmate of sharing nude photos of her
A 16-year-old Calabasas High School student alleges her former friend shared real and AI-generated nude images of her to classmates.

CALABASAS, Calif. (KABC) -- A 16-year-old Calabasas High School student alleges her former friend shared real and AI-generated nude images of her to classmates - and has not faced any consequences.

The teen victim told Eyewitness News that naked photos of her started circulating at the school last August. She accuses her former friend of being behind the act.

The victim said the female student secretly filmed her while in the shower. In other cases, the victim alleges the student used artificial intelligence to put her face on other people's bodies - some of the images ended up on a pornographic website.

"I never thought that if I left the door cracked a little open because my shower gets too steamy that pictures of me would end up all over my school. It was terrifying," the teen victim said.

The family of the teen who was targeted is outraged that no one has been disciplined and that the accused student is still enrolled at Calabasas High.

"It was very hard. She's dealt with a lot of mental health issues," said Jacqueline Smith, the victim's mother. "She's dealt with a lot of emotional distress, humiliation."

The victim said she has not gotten any answers from the school and believes her classmate should be expelled.

"All the school tells me is that, 'We can't disclose it with you,'" the victim said. "So I only know from what I see and what I see is that she's there at school every day, still harassing me, still bullying me."

Erika Hawkins said her daughter, who is also a student at Calabasas High School, was bullied by the same girl after she spoke out against the photos.

"It's not an isolated situation, and it's not handled because it's continuing," Hawkins said. "I don't believe she should be allowed to remain in the school."

Hawkins said she believes the girl should be expelled.

Dan Stepenosky, superintendent of the Las Virgenes Unified School District, issued the following statement:

"We take our students' safety very seriously and we're in the middle of investigating claims from both students (and parents) against each other. We have also shared all of the information we have with Lost Hills Sheriff's Office, but they don't seem to be pressing any charges at this point."

In terms of legal action against the student who recorded and distributed the images, the Los Angeles County Probation Department told Eyewitness News they've sent the matter to the district attorney for filing consideration.

Last week, five Beverly Hills eighth-grade students were expelled for their involvement in using artificial intelligence to generate nude images of classmates and sharing them with others.