In most circumstances, I would not comment publicly on a case that had been closed by the courts, because my responsibilities as Loudoun County Commonwealth’s Attorney would have ended. But in the case of the “sexting” incident at Freedom High School, and the subsequent arrest of Assistant Principal Ting-Yi Oei on child pornography charges, I believe I have a responsibility to the families of Loudoun County to speak out. Mr. Oei himself has raised the public visibility of this case, both in the Washington Post Sunday Outlook section (April 19, 2009) and on National Public Radio (April 28, 2009), and in the process he has distorted the facts in this case and unfairly criticized the Loudoun County criminal justice system.
The main facts in the case are not in dispute and have been discussed openly in court hearings. In the Spring of 2008, an underage female student stripped down to her panties on the grounds of Freedom High School, and her boyfriend took a photo of her which was sent to at least one other student at the school. Mr. Oei, the Assistant Principal with responsibility for disciplinary matters at the school, called in the student who had received the picture, and directed that he transfer it to Mr. Oei’s personal cell phone.
There the matter rested for several weeks, and there Mr. Oei’s version diverges from the facts uncovered during the investigation, the discrepancies of which are too numerous to detail here in full. Despite Mr. Oei’s protestations in the Washington Post, the investigation revealed that he knew almost immediately after obtaining it, the identity of the young girl in the photo as well as that of her minor boyfriend who photographed her. He knew that both of them, as well as the recipient of the photo, were all students at Freedom High School. And he knew the girl was a minor.
“Sexting” is a troubling and growing fad among young people across the country, and some of Loudoun County’s youth are joining in. What should be the proper response of parents, school officials, and law enforcement officials to this relatively new, socially abhorrent, and self-degrading behavior? Communities across the country are grappling with that question, and we in Loudoun County need to have a public discussion as well.
I believe that if school officials discover that their students are engaged in this kind of behavior anywhere, much less on school grounds, they have a responsibility to inform the parents immediately. I believe they also have a responsibility to use whatever means are available to change the behavior of the children involved, which may include discipline, child counseling, and family/school meetings. Moreover, I believe school officials should actively engage all students and all families in a public discussion of this behavior and the damage it can do to our young people. And I believe that law enforcement officials should stay alert to ensure that any adult involvement in the sexual behavior of our children is necessary, professional, and constructive.
In his essay in the Post, Mr. Oei defends his actions in this case on the grounds that he was just doing his job, and he appears to believe that he was doing it well. I disagree. As we learned in the investigation, after seeing the photo, Mr. Oei did not contact the parents of the female student involved; and in fact, he specifically told the recipient of the photo that he would not tell his parents, and that they should just keep it between them. Mr. Oei made no attempt to discipline the students in any way. He made no attempt to send them to school counselors, pastors, or any adults who could work with the children to help them understand the negative consequences of their behavior. Having discovered that "sexting" was being practiced by Freedom High student, he made no attempt to engage the whole student body, or the broader community, in a public discussion of this behavior.
The only action Mr. Oei took in this case was to have the photo transferred to his personal cell phone, where it remained for several months, despite the fact that the school Principal specifically told him on several occasions to delete the photo, before having to delete it herself.
I don’t know what Mr. Oei’s motives were in keeping the photo on his personal cell phone. It seems that he didn’t intend to use it in ongoing interactions with the students involved in the “sexting,” because there weren’t any. And I don’t know of any useful purpose the photo would serve in any disciplinary, counseling, or school-wide educational actions related to “sexting.”
But my job is not to ascertain motives. I am responsible for pursuing charges when a grand jury has found probable cause, and when I believe there is a reasonable likelihood that a felony has been committed. A jury of peers then decides whether those actions are criminal beyond a reasonable doubt.
Judge Horne dismissed this case because he felt that the nudity exposed by this juvenile was not lewd or obscene. I respectfully disagree. This case is closed, and I am not discussing it now to discomfort Mr. Oei. I am raising the visibility of this case so that our entire community – families, school officials, and law enforcement officials – does a better job teaching our children about the dangers and self-degradation involved in “sexting,” and so we respond more effectively when our children make this kind of mistake in judgment. In this particular case, I believe Mr. Oei failed in his responsibilities as Assistant Principal, and that failure opened him up to reasonable questions concerning the intent behind his continued possession of the photo.
Editor’s Note: The Loudoun Independent has provided ongoing news coverage of the prosecution of Freedom High School Assistant Principal Ting-Yi Oei from his initial arrest through his exoneration by the court. The decision to prosecute this case has led to criticism of Loudoun Commonwealth’s Attorney Jim Plowman from several media outlets. Mr. Plowman has attempted to respond fully to Mr. Oei’s article in the Washington Post, but was declined the opportunity by their Editors for equal treatment in their paper. The Independent is committed to offering its readers complete information whenever it is made available.
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I agree with Mr. Plowman and commend him for taking a stand for our children in Loudoun County. I think someone should look into the backwardness of our current school leadership and how they handle incidents that occur in our public schools. If this public school administrator had done his job right the first time, there wouldn't have been a need for the Commonwealth's Attorney to get involved. I am a former Loudoun County Deputy and wish that he had been our Commonwealth Attorney during my tenure. Keep up the good work Mr. Plowman!