Cheerleaders Booted for Naked Pics

Now the parents are suing the school district.

Parents of two cheerleaders booted off the cheer squad after the teen girls were caught sexting racy photos are suing the school district.

The Bothell, Washington High School cheerleaders took racy cell phone photos of themselves and then say they "accidentally" sent them to other students, including members of the football team.

In the course of investigating the racy cheerleader photos, Bothell High administrators reviewed the pictures, but the girls' parents allege in their lawsuit that they were not properly notified of the incident that led to the cheerleaders suspension from the cheer squad.

One of the photos was taken three years ago, according to court documents. The topless pic was sent to her then-boyfriend's phone in the summer of 2005. Later that summer, the picture was "accidentally" distributed to other Bothell students, according to her lawsuit.

The other teen's photo was taken in June, when she and a fellow cheerleader used their cell phones to each snap photos of themselves naked, according to her lawsuit. Those photos were later, again, "accidentally" sent to other students, though the parents' attorney Matthew King said it was unclear exactly how that happened.

Shortly after the June photos were taken, school officials heard rumors the pictures were circulating among students, particularly football players. They sent a letter to all cheerleaders' parents, warning that if inappropriate photos were found, it could result in suspension from the squad.

Football players were told to delete the cheerleaders' photos from their cell phones if they received them, according to the lawsuits.

In August, school administrators received copies of both photos. The two sides dispute who first contacted police -- the school or the girls' parents -- and whether the parents were properly notified of the incident.

Both lawsuits, filed Monday in King County Superior Court, accuse school administrators of violating the girls' due process rights, needlessly sharing the photos with other school staff members and failing to promptly report the matter to police as possible child pornography.

Attorney Matthew King, who represents both families, said it also was troubling that the teens were punished, but football players and other students at the school who sent or received the texts were not.

"My clients fully realize what they did was stupid," King said, adding that the girls never intended for the photos to be distributed and have been mortified by the entire incident.

Check out a news story on the suit:

Do you think the school is to blame?