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SPECIALIST detectives are investigating how multiple men gained access to a school’s online class before engaging in inappropriate behavior on video.
The incident occurred during a Microsoft Teams class this week that was organized for sophomores at a post-primary school in Meath.
It is understood that a small number of adult men were involved in the rape, which occurred on Wednesday, and the class was immediately stopped.
The school has also reported the matter to gardaí, the Tusla family agency and the Department of Education.
Gardaí has confirmed that detectives are now investigating the incident that took place on the online platform.
A Garda spokeswoman said: “A Garda Síochána can confirm that the Divisional Protective Services Unit is conducting an investigation into an incident that occurred in an online educational forum.”
Divisional Protective Services Units are made up of specially trained detectives who deal with a wide range of crimes, including alleged crimes related to child protection.
Co Meath School has also sent a message to the parents of the students, who are around 14 years old, informing them of what happened and offering the necessary supports. It is understood that a small number of adult men were involved in the rape.
The school, which operates under the patronage of the Louth Meath Education and Training Board (LMETB), has also shut down use of the Teams platform pending its ongoing investigation into the matter.
The incident has prompted LMETB to review the security settings on the platform to ensure that online events cannot be breached in this way.
A spokesperson for LMETB said the incident was “very regrettable” and that nothing like this had happened before.
He said they were still investigating the matter from an IT perspective to establish exactly what happened.
In the meantime, they believe that they have “eliminated any possibility of a new instance by applying strong security measures on the online platform.”
The spokesman said the incident on Wednesday had been reported to the relevant authorities.
“Both the gardaí and Tusla have been informed, as a precautionary measure.”
The LMETB has also advised the Department of Education, with a view to ensuring that the lessons to be learned from it are shared with schools across the country.
The incident came just days after more than 900,000 pupils from 4,000 primary and post-primary schools returned to remote learning as a result of high rates of Covid infection.
Now LMETB has sent guidance to each staff member regarding platform setup, specifically on controlling who can admit guests.
LMETB runs about 20 post-primary schools and details of the incident were shared with principals at a meeting yesterday. Separately, a routine meeting of senior officials from the education and training boards was reported.
Irish independent
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