Lancaster Country Day School has filed a motion in federal court to dismiss a civil lawsuit accusing the school of failing to protect female students from AI-generated deepfake nude images created by two former classmates.
The lawsuit, filed in June on behalf of 13 unnamed students and their parents, alleges the private school did not notify local law enforcement after receiving an initial warning about the explicit materials.
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School's Defense
Defense attorneys argue the school bears no legal responsibility for the off-campus criminal conduct of former students.
They say administrators properly investigated the initial anonymous tip, which lacked specific victim details, and reported their findings to the Attorney General's office.
Rory Connaughton, an attorney representing the school, stated: "Lancaster Country Day School is not liable for the criminal acts perpetrated by two former students."
The defense also notes that state law at the time did not require reporting child-on-child AI material as official child abuse.
Connaughton added: "The Safe2Say statute defines the Attorney General as law enforcement. The Attorney General has statewide jurisdiction for the investigation and prosecution of child sexual abuse material."
The school's filing asserts that state authorities had full discretion to escalate the case to local police if warranted.
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Brett Hambright, Communications Director for the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, clarified that the agency does not investigate tips but passes them to relevant schools or police.
While acknowledging the severity of the offense, the defense denied institutional fault, stating: "What W. D.
and N. S.
did to these students is heartbreaking and saddening."
The filing also rejected allegations of a cover-up, asserting that the school did not participate in any intentional conspiracy.
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Both 16-year-old male perpetrators were previously sentenced in juvenile court to probation and 60 hours of community service.
