3 Lakeville Students Plead Guilty in Locker Room Photo Case

Three of four Lakeville middle school students accused of taking and distributing inappropriate photos, plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to interfere with privacy.

According to prosecutors, two boys at Century Middle School in Lakeville started a game in which they took photos of girls' buttocks in the hallway and forwarded the pictures to others.

As the game evolved, the boys recruited one girl to take inappropriate pictures in the school locker room - paying her $10 and a can of soda to do so. She did, and urged another girl to do the same.

The two girls took a total of five photos and one video of two other girls who were undressing in the locker room in May, prosecutors said. The images showed the backs of the victims partially undressed from the waist down. None of the images showed the victims naked.

Prosecutors said the images were then forwarded to the boys and eventually to others.

The students who plead guilty received probation for 180 days, 30 hours of community service, and each must attend a victim empathy class and write a letter of apology. The judge also said their cell phones must be forfeited, or efforts need to be taken to make sure all of the inappropriate images are removed from their phones.

According to Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom, if the students comply with the conditions there will be no criminal conviction on their juvenile records.

The Associated Press Contributed to this Report.