A Louisiana family is preparing to file a federal lawsuit against the Lafourche Parish School District after a 13-year-old girl was expelled for hitting a male classmate she says created and circulated a deepfake pornographic image of her.
The incident occurred in August at Sixth Ward Middle School, sparking community outrage, national attention on social media, and renewed debate about how schools handle digital harassment in the age of artificial intelligence.
Background: Bullying and inaction
According to attorneys Greg Miller and Morgyn Young, the girl reported to multiple school officials that a fake explicit image — generated using AI deepfake technology — was being shared among students. Her father, Joseph Daniels, said she was taunted throughout the day while teachers and administrators failed to intervene.
“The school board’s actions in this case are reprehensible,” Miller said. “My client’s daughter was begging them all day to put a stop to this. Not only did they not stop it, they put her on the bus with the perpetrator.”
When she saw the image being circulated again on the bus, she struck the boy she believed responsible. The district expelled her, citing violence under the student code of conduct, a decision her father described as “extremely overboard.”
“I didn’t approve of her putting her hands on the boy,” Daniels said. “A suspension would’ve been justified. But expulsion? That’s punishing the victim.”
Legal and community response
The case ignited anger at a recent school board meeting, where parents and community members criticized the district for allegedly ignoring the harassment. Video of the meeting, viewed over 40,000 times on TikTok, shows parents demanding accountability from school leaders.
Attorney Young said the district failed to protect the victim and instead “shifted the narrative onto a 13-year-old’s reaction after being sexually exploited all day.” The family plans to pursue federal claims citing Title IX violations, which prohibit sex-based discrimination and require schools to address sexual harassment effectively.
The Lafourche Parish School Board, citing privacy laws under FERPA, said it could not discuss disciplinary details but emphasized that all cases involving violence or pornographic materials are reported to law enforcement and “met with swift, consistent consequences.”
The district also accused critics of spreading “misinformation” and insisted its decisions reflected a commitment to safety and fairness.
Law enforcement investigation
Sheriff Craig Webre confirmed that one student has been charged with ten counts of unlawful dissemination of AI-generated pornographic images. He said more arrests could follow as investigators analyze digital evidence from social media and devices.
“While altering images isn’t new, AI has made it easier than ever for anyone to create fake sexual content,” Webre said. “This case highlights a serious concern every parent should discuss with their children.”
Webre added that the girl will not face criminal charges, noting “the totality of the circumstances” justified leniency.
Broader context: Deepfakes and digital exploitation
The Louisiana case underscores a growing legal gray area: deepfake harassment, which has surged as generative AI tools become widely available. Such imagery can be produced with minimal technical skill and spread instantly through phones and social platforms — creating lasting emotional and reputational harm for minors.
While several states, including Louisiana, have begun criminalizing nonconsensual synthetic sexual images, schools often lack policies that define how to respond when victims and perpetrators are both students. Legal experts warn that school discipline systems are unprepared for AI-driven bullying that blends digital privacy violations with real-world trauma.
“This incident shows the gap between traditional anti-bullying rules and the realities of modern technology,” said Kelley Townsend, a cyberlaw researcher at Tulane University. “Expelling a child for reacting to sexual exploitation while failing to act on the exploitation itself may expose districts to Title IX liability.”
Social and ethical implications
The case has become a national flashpoint in discussions about gender, digital abuse, and school accountability. Parents’ groups have called for updated federal guidance on deepfake incidents involving minors. Mental health advocates warn of the long-term psychological toll of such digital violations — often indistinguishable from authentic images.
Daniels said the experience has shattered his faith in the school system but that he holds no animosity toward the boy’s family. “Kids do dumb things — adults do too. They don’t comprehend the severity of what they do,” he said.
Projections
- Legal: The forthcoming federal lawsuit may set precedent for how Title IX applies to AI-generated sexual harassment, pushing districts to adopt explicit deepfake policies.
- Educational: Schools nationwide may implement AI misuse training and parental awareness programs as incidents rise.
- Technological: Lawmakers could move to expand state and federal criminal statutes to specifically target minors’ involvement in creating synthetic sexual imagery.
- Cultural: Cases like this may accelerate a shift toward digital ethics education in middle and high schools, treating online conduct as seriously as in-person behavior.
For now, the student remains on probation, with the expulsion still on her record — a reminder, her lawyers say, that “technology may be new, but victim-blaming is not.”
References
- WAFB / Gray News (Nov. 2025): “Girl, 13, expelled after hitting classmate who made deepfake image.”
- Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office statement (Nov. 2025)
- Lafourche Parish School District public statement (Nov. 2025)
- Tulane University Center for Cyberlaw analysis on student deepfake cases (2025)
- U.S. Department of Education: Title IX guidelines on sexual harassment (2025)
