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Police escort student from school following 'sexting' probe

A Kings Park High School student who was suspended following a sexting probe was escorted from school grounds Tuesday by police. AJ Fenton arrived at school this morning along with his father. About

News 12 Staff

Nov 11, 2015, 7:51 AM

Updated 3,385 days ago

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A Kings Park High School student who was suspended following a sexting probe was escorted from school grounds Tuesday by police.
AJ Fenton arrived at school this morning along with his father. About 30 minutes later, two officers escorted the student from the school, saying he would be arrested if he didn't leave.
The 10th-grader is one of about 20 Kings Park High School students currently suspended from school for allegedly being in possession of a sexually explicit video involving minors.
As News 12 has reported, two 14-year-old Smithtown students are facing felony charges for allegedly sending that video via cellphone. Police say one of the boys engaged in a sex act with an underage girl off school grounds while the other boy recorded it.
"My son received a video," says Andrew Fenton. "He didn't forward it to anybody. He didn't do anything with it." He contends that his son should not have been suspended.
According to Newsday, students who possessed or saw the video received lighter punishments, while those who distributed it got up to a five-day suspension.
Thomas Phelan says his son was given a two-day suspension and claims he didn't even watch the clip. He says the principal and vice principal did not provide evidence that his son saw or was in possession of the video, but suspended him because of "word of mouth."
Andrew Fenton and other parents say many other students received and sent the text of the video. He and students also say members of the football team received the text, but parents say team members were not suspended because there was a playoff game on Saturday.
Kings Park's superintendent released a statement that said all suspensions were made in accordance with the district's code of conduct, citing privacy issues.
A letter on the Smithtown Central School District website says it is conducting its own investigation into the matter. It says more students may be facing disciplinary consequences.
Fenton says that he will take legal action if his son's suspension is not overturned.
At a school board meeting Tuesday night, Smithtown Superintendent James Grossane said the two arrested boys may face disciplinary action, but did not specify the punishment, citing federal privacy laws. The district has not specified which school the boys attend.