February 29 is a day that few will forget in the community of Saint George’s School in Vitacura. It was that Thursday afternoon when the parents of seven students received the news that reached their cell phones like a bucket of cold water.
A group of students had created images with artificial intelligence (AI), where they simulated the naked bodies of their classmates. In less than a week, the news was already spreading through the school hallways. The establishment began an internal investigation, but a few days later the problems began.
Send your complaint to Mega Investiga here
The families were not satisfied with the measures that the establishment had adopted, who had decided to cancel the 2025 enrollment of some of the students, which meant continuing to share spaces all year round with the students. For weeks, the parents and the school tried to unblock the situation, however, the talks did not come to fruition.
In May, the families decided to present a appeal for protection to the Court of Appeals of Santiago, accusing violations of the rights of the affected minors. The action escalated an issue that until then remained within the boundaries of Saint George’s School.
THE LAST
After this, on May 24, the Eastern Metropolitan Prosecutor’s Office opened an ex officio investigation for the crimes of degrading treatment against minors and production, dissemination and storage of child pornography. Almost a month after that announcement, the prosecuting entity has already carried out the first steps, in an investigation that is in the hands of the gender prosecutor, Felipe Cembrano.
The Public Ministry took statements from the parents of the affected minors for the fact. Along with this, the prosecuting entity is already examining the cell phones of the minors who created, disseminated and stored the images. The objective, among other things, would be to trace the origin of the images, the applications that were used, the sources where the students’ photos were downloaded, as well as determine which social networks and groups they circulated on.
Those familiar with the investigation recognize that this is an unprecedented event in our country, since although there were cases of leaks of photographs without consent, there was no history of images of a sexual nature, involving minors, and that were created with artificial intelligence.
For the expert lawyer in sexual crimes against minors, María Elena Santibañez, the configuration of crimes investigated by the Prosecutor’s Office points in the right direction. “Considering that they are images that reflect precisely what would fit into the concept of child pornography, through this expanded concept, we could think of the production of child pornographic material,” he says.
Santibañez assures that the law is clear, and according to preliminary information, said crime could be configured, even though the images have been created with AI. The lawyer explains that the rule “is designed for minors who are used in this context of direct recruitment or the image of the minor used in contexts with sexual significance“.
Superintendency: “When the establishment sees that this could constitute a crime, it must report it”
Although the Prosecutor’s Office considered that there could be crimes of a sexual nature, the school chose from the beginning not to report the incident. In a report sent to the Court of Appeals, the school argued that the events would not have a sexual connotation, “in the sense that the establishment’s protocol addresses it, which is rather oriented to cases of touching, sexual abuse and/or rapes, that is, ‘sexual crimes’.”
Along with this, the establishment ensures that the correct protocol was applied, that is, that of school abuse, since it was more precise for the description of the events. Even so, they maintain that if the sexual assault protocol had been initiated, the result would not have changed. “The choice of protocol has no impact on its sanctioning result or on the measures that may be applied during the investigation,” reads the report that the establishment sent to the Court of Appeals.
However, the parents of the victims do not share this position. Mega Investigate spoke with parents of two of the affected students, whose story will be known in a report that will be broadcast tonight on Meganoticias Prime.
In the opinion of the parents, the facts are clearly of sexual connotation, so the school’s decision to apply the abuse protocol would not be understood. In addition, they accuse that the establishment did not comply with its legal obligation to report the events to the Public Ministry. As suggested by the Superintendence of Education.
“There is an obligation that cannot be lost sight of, which is when the establishment sees that this could constitute a crime, it must report it to the police,” he says. Marggie MunozHead of the Division of Protection of Educational Rights of the Superintendence of Education.
The agency has already begun a process of collecting background information and monitoring the case. The superintendency explains that in the coming days it will be decided whether to open an administrative sanctioning process against the school. “It can end in fines, a reprimand, or other sanctions determined by the regulations, this always associated and weighted according to the seriousness of the facts,” explains Muñoz.
Holy Cross Congregation (USA): “The College approached the matter with the greatest seriousness”
The parents’ disagreement with the way the school has handled the matter was not only presented to the courts, but they also sent a letter directly to the school. Holy Cross Congregationthe entity to which Saint George’s school belongs.
In the letter, the parents accuse that the establishment has acted “outside the regulatory framework and far from any due process”, which has caused a “serious violation of the fundamental rights of our daughters.”
In the letter addressed to the Reverend William Liesprovincial head of the congregation, detail that the school “maintained complete secrecy” the process dictated by the protocol, “without informing either the teaching staff or the school community of the decisions made, which are objectively incorrect and illegal.”
The response to the letter was received on June 7, where the reverend “deeply regretted” the events. “I completely understand the anguish of your families and rest assured that we are taking all necessary measures to protect your daughters and all members of the community,” he reads in the response to which he had access to this medium.
The reverend supported the school’s actions, ensuring that the matter was approached with the “greatest seriousness and diligence, requesting the advice and counsel of renowned jurists and psychologists”, actions that, in Lies’ opinion, were “timely.”
The document concludes by pointing out that “it is now necessary for the institutions and the justice system to continue with their work and processes. We will be awaiting their results, which we will obviously fully comply with.”
