HOULTON, Maine — A group of Houlton Middle High School students are planning a Wednesday morning walkout from class over the way police and the school district investigated a social media post featuring more than 100 photos of female students.
The Houlton school district sent a letter to the community Saturday saying that the district and police had investigated the video, which showed images of girls’ faces that were edited and enlarged from other photos, and found it was not a threat and did not violate criminal law, despite some social media users calling it a “rape list,” Superintendent Joseph Fagnant said.
The video posted to Facebook featured a student at Region Two Forestry program at Southern Aroostook Community School earlier this month showing another student a private Google Photos collection with the images, Fagnant said in his letter.
Police found that the majority of photos were taken from public social media pages posted by individuals and contained in a password-protected Google Photos site created during the summer, according to the superintendent.
Regional School Unit 29 and the Houlton Police Department began investigating the social media post after a student told the administration about it, Fagnant said Saturday.
“We recognize that there are a lot of strong feelings, emotions and opinions regarding this incident. What was being shared was upsetting to all of us, and I can assure you that the district investigated immediately and involved the Houlton Police Department as it happened outside of RSU 29,” he said.
The disagreement between administration and students over the handling of the social media post is the latest incident in a pattern students say is making them feel unsafe at school.
On Friday, the Houlton police reported in a press release posted on Facebook that no evidence indicated a threat, assaults or any harm to anyone in the photos. Police said they have contacted the Aroostook County District Attorney’s Office regarding their investigation. They did not release the name of the original post’s creator.
Aroostook County District Attorney Todd Collins could not immediately be reached for comment on Monday.
It was determined that the majority of photos were taken from public social media pages posted by individuals and that they were collected on a password-protected Google website created during the summer, Fagnant said.
Fagnant said in a public posting that the school’s investigation found there was no negative effect on the student learning environment. He said the incident is a reminder that students and residents need to learn about the challenges and dangers of technology and that parents should remind children that any photos posted publicly can be captured by anyone.
Several Houlton students disagree with the administration’s conclusions and said they do not feel safe at school.
“We are deeply disturbed by the statements released by RSU 29 and the Houlton Police Department,” said the Houlton Middle High School Walkout Organizing Committee in a Sunday statement. “Their words are just another example of dehumanizing and victim-blaming hurtfully directed toward the huge number of us who have been victims of sexual harassment and bullying in our schools.”
The original post of the list is only part of the problem, said Ollie Kinney, a freshman at the high school who is part of the committee.
“There are so many cases of student on student harassment and even when reported it just gets swept under the rug and no one does anything about it,” Kinney said.
Fagnant said the district struggles with investigating content on outside technology because much of it happens on personal phones, computers and off school grounds. Additionally, the school can’t publicly say what happens to a student who is found guilty of bullying and harassment, he said.
“We could do a better job communicating with students who brought a complaint forward to say we addressed it. We just can’t share what discipline actions were taken,” he said.
According to the Maine Department of Education, RSU 29 has reported zero bullying or harassment in the district since 2017. But Fagnant said the district reported three incidents of bullying in 2023-2024 to a federal database and they’re looking into why their numbers are different in the state report.
Members of the walkout organizing committee said the school district is blaming victims by suggesting that students are responsible for being harassed or bullied because they post pictures on social media.
“This is not only false, but also incredibly hurtful. The fact that we may have been photographed, shared, or posted about without our consent does not mean that we invited or deserved the harassment and bullying that followed,” Kinney said.
During a video interview with the Bangor Daily News on Sunday night, several of the students said the posting was an edited version of thousands of photos taken from a Google account, many containing inappropriate images of Houlton High School girls.
Police said that no pornographic photos were evident on the private Google site that was originally accessed by only two individuals who later shared it with others.
Sophomore Maxine Hartnett is on the posting and said that if she was still in the same school as the alleged poster she would feel extremely uncomfortable.
“Even if it is just girls with a low cut top or shorts, clothes are not a ‘yes’ or an OK for harassment,” said Hartnett, who is also organizing the walk-out.
Several students in the interview said that they have been sexually harassed. They said they do not feel safe because the district response to the harassment is to not deal with it and to blame those being harassed.
“We don’t feel safe in school,” said Hartnett.
The student walkout is scheduled for Wednesday at 10:11 a.m., after the second period.
