Video of Middle School Girls Changing Not Leaked, Police Say

A cellphone video at in Murrieta this week was not leaked to others and no crime was committed, police said today.

The video, taken by a female student as seventh- and eighth-grade girls were changing for sixth period PE, was reported to administration by another student the day after it was taken, Shivela Middle School Principal Marcie Kea told parents in a letter sent home.

An investigation by a Murrieta police school resource officer revealed that the cellphone was blocked from sending video, Murrieta police Lt. Tony Conrad said today.

"There was a rumor that the video went out, but in looking at the smart phone, it does not have the ability to send video, which is consisent with what the girl's parents said," Conrad said.

The student gave a statement to the resource officer that she videotaped her friend, according to Conrad, but did not intend to video girls in the background who were in various stages of undress.

Police used California Penal Code 647(j) to determine whether there was a crime, Conrad said. Under the code, it is illegal to intentionally videotape others without their consent in the "interior of a bedroom, bathroom, changing room, fitting room, dressing room, or tanning booth, or the interior of any other area in which the occupant has a reasonable expectation of privacy, with the intent to invade the privacy of a person or persons inside."

Students are allowed to carry cell phones on campus for emergency use, but the student handbook specifically bars students from recording videos in locker rooms, according to Karen Parris, spokesperson for the Murrieta Valley Unified School District. 

Those violating the rule face possible suspension and legal consequences, Parris said.

The student has been disciplined for violating the policy, Assistant Principal Brent Coley told Patch. Details of the extent of the discipline were confidential due to privacy laws.

City News Service contributed to this report.