Parents, students confront school board after AI generated nude photos circulate at Cascade High School

By Terra Konieczny

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    CASCADE, Iowa (KWWL) — Emotions ran high at a special Western Dubuque School Board meeting Monday night, as parents and students demanded answers following a disturbing incident at Cascade High School.

Multiple male students allegedly created AI-generated nude images of their female classmates — raising urgent concerns about student safety, digital misconduct, and the school district’s response.

The meeting was prompted by a parent petition calling for stronger policies and protections. While the district says it has procedures in place, many parents and students say not enough has been done since the incident came to light more than a month ago.

One female student, who was among the victims, spoke directly to the board: “They’re allowed to sit by us in class, and that is humiliating, and it’s punishing us more than any punishment they ever got,” she said.

Western Dubuque Superintendent Dr. Dan Butler addressed several points raised in the petition, acknowledging the gender dynamic in the case: “We recognize full well that in this situation, our victims are all females. Our school counselor, full-time, at Cascade Junior-Senior High School, is male. So, with that, we have a mental health counselor that is involved, can be involved, and was made available, and will continue to be made available for support.”

However, several parents pushed back, saying meaningful support was never provided. “You continue to say counselors were available — they were not. To this day, these girls have not been provided meaningful counseling,” one parent said.

Multiple students said the boys involved were allowed to remain in the same classrooms and participate in extracurricular activities. “Not only were they in my classes — they were also allowed to participate in regular school activities, as well as carry the phones that once held these nude images,” one victim stated.

Representatives from the Dubuque County Sheriff’s Office explained the complexity of investigating social media crimes, noting it can take months to obtain data from some tech companies. “This can be because some of these social media companies are not even in the United States, so they don’t work well with U.S. law enforcement or legal process,” one investigator explained.

The Cascade Police Department, who is leading the investigation, could not attend due to a scheduling conflict with a city council meeting. In a written statement read during the board meeting, the department emphasized the need for stronger communication. “Communication was averted or slow coming to the Cascade Police Department. The communication between Cascade High School, with the Cascade Police Department, and the school resource officer needs to be addressed and improved to keep everyone safe.”

Victims also voiced frustration about being told not to discuss the incident with teachers or classmates, and were told to go to the office to do so. “As far as I know, no part of the administration has checked in on us in this awful situation,” one student said. “I was hoping they would be willing to fight for us, but I am talking to you today because they are forcing us to fight for ourselves.”

The district says it will review all feedback from the meeting to identify themes and determine what changes may be necessary. The investigation into the incident remains active with the Cascade Police Department and the Dubuque County Sheriff’s Office.

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