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The seeds of the incident were sown last week when someone began sharing an inappropriate photo of a girl that made its way to some students, parents said.
“The girl has ties to someone in Hillsdale, so some of the kids know her,” one said.
District officials asked parents following the incident to talk with their children about blocking and preventing “the transmission of inappropriate pictures,” Schools Supt. Robert Lombardy said.
On Monday, he said, district officials learned from borough police that three students at the George White Middle School “were contacted by an unknown individual [on Friday] requesting images or videos be sent.
“The contact with these students was the result of the original situation,” he added.
“Thankfully, none of our students transmitted images or video upon request,” the superintendent said in an email to parents. “However, one of our students did engage the caller in conversation.
“In the course of that conversation, the child reported to the police that the caller made threatening comments.”
Hillsdale police conferred with the Cyber Crimes Unit of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office and “deemed the threat non-specific and not credible,” Lombardy said.
However, “out of an abundance of precaution, the police increased their presence at George White Middle School this morning,” he said.
“We believe all children are safe, and the Hillsdale Police will continue to monitor the situation,” the superintendent said.
“We encourage the continued dialogue with your child and careful monitoring of their mobile phone for who they are communicating with and what content is being shared,” he said.
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ALSO SEE: A social media post that brought Paramus police to a borough middle school on Monday turned out harmless, according to the principal.
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