High school student arrested for filming upskirt video of teacher, sharing it online
An 18-year-old high school student in Slidell, Louisiana, was arrested on Tuesday after he filmed up the skirt of a teacher without her knowledge, and then shared the footage on social media.
The Slidell High School teacher was helping another student when John A. Zeringue III filmed her. She was not aware of the student's invasion of privacy until later in the day, when she was told of the existence of the video, captain Daniel Seuzeneau told The New Orleans Advocate.
A complaint was filed against the student with the Slidell police, and Zeringue admitted to the incident. According to a friend of the victim, the teacher "did not ask for, invite or deserve this and did not take her decision to alert the authorities lightly." Zeringue was arrested for video voyeurism, which is a felony. Anyone convicted of this crime must register as a sex offender.
"Per our disciplinary guidelines the student has been excluded from school," spokeswoman Meredith Mendez said in an email to the outlet. A representative for the school district did not immediately respond to Yahoo Lifestyle’s requests for comment.
According to the Advocate, the St. Tammany Parish school system had previously banned all cell phones from school grounds. However, this summer the school board voted and changed the policy, which went into effect this year, allowing students to keep cell phones on campus as long as they were kept in their locker, bag, purse, or pocket. Administrators said, at the time of the vote, that allowing cell phones on campus would help communication should there be an emergency, such as a school shooting.
Many commenters on the police department's Facebook post regarding the incident voiced their opinions about the problematic "boys will be boys" rhetoric. "He violated another person’s personal space and privacy. I’m tired of the south’s mentality of 'boys will be boys' how about teach your boys to not be future sex offenders!" a person shared. "Would you still think it was just a 'kid being a kid' if it was your daughter he shared for the world to see?" another questioned.
While many more echoed that 18 is old enough to know right from wrong, others came to the teenager's defense. "This is a good kid (known him for most of his life) who made a very stupid decision and he will face the consequences of his actions... Good People make stupid choices and that’s just what he did. He will suffer the consequences. Yes he’s 18 but he’s a high school student still. There’s a mentality difference there!" one wrote. "He may be 18 but he’s still a kid! He doesn’t deserve jail! Expulsion, yes! He’s a good kid that did something he shouldn’t have!" another person shared.
Slidell police did not immediately respond to Yahoo Lifestyle’s requests for comment.
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