An Instagram account that a school official says bullied Elkhorn Middle School students and others has been taken down after the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office requested it be blocked.
The account posted pictures of Frankfort students with captions that “absolutely just slaughtered the person on there,” according to Sheriff Pat Melton.
“They just said anything you could think of that’s nasty,” he said. “Very, very, very inappropriate language. They blasted appearance, sexual experience, things you wouldn’t expect a 13- or 14-year old to say. It would make a sailor blush.”
Melton said his office found out about the account late Tuesday.
Once it was discovered the account was posting inappropriate tems about students, he said his office sent a message to Facebook, owner of Instagram, the photo-sharing social media site.
The account was down by the following morning and hasn’t reappeared, Melton said.
“The action that we took was for the safety of the school and the students that were there because it was so inappropriate,” Melton said.
He said he doesn’t know who was behind the Instagram account because the postings were done anonymously, but if the perpetrators are caught, there could be charges of harassing communications and harassment, both misdemeanors.
A criminal investigation cannot be launched unless a victim files a complaint.
Willie Bartley, Elkhorn Middle School principal, said students from Frankfort Middle School and Franklin County High School were also involved.
“The culture here is fine, the bullying was happening outside of school,” he said. “Instagram is outside of school.”
Regardless, Melton said the children’s behavior was in poor taste.
“It was kids talking about kids and unfortunately kids can be very cruel,” Melton said. “It’s just very, very poor taste. I think our children are better than that.”
Franklin County Superintendent Chrissy Jones could not be reached for comment.
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