Fremd, Palatine High Schools investigate obscene photo in mass email

PALATINE, Ill. (WLS) -- Palatine police are investigating a sexually explicit and obscene email sent Tuesday night to almost all of the 5,400 students at William Fremd High School and Palatine High School in Palatine, Ill.

The email was sent using the internal student email system.

Administrators sent a message to parents Wednesday afternoon around 4 p.m. alerting them to the "graphic and offensive image" and assuring them the district is cooperating with Palatine police to find out who is responsible for sending it.

The district sent a second message to parents Thursday morning, saying in part, "the police investigation led to productive information that remains under active and vigorous investigation. Along with the police, we continue to pursue all available avenues to identify the responsible individual and any information you might have would be appreciated."

They also reminded parents and students to refrain from opening unsolicited emails because they can contain viruses or, as in this case, harmful content.

Palatine police said in a statement, "due to the nature of the image and the target audience to whom it was transmitted, the Palatine Police Department was notified to conduct an investigation. Palatine detectives, working in conjunction with District 211 staff, continue to follow up on leads in this matter."

A source says those leads may include the sender's IP address. Some students told Eyewitness News that the sender was able to hack into the district's main email server using a router that switches IP addresses every two hours.

Anyone with information regarding the email's origins or sender should contact Palatine police.