No Federal Charges in Lower Merion "Spycams" Case

There will be no federal criminal charges filed against the Lower Merion School District after accusations of webcam spying.

KYW's Ian Bush reports that according to federal prosecutors, investigators found no evidence of criminal intent by employees of the school district in Montgomery County who remotely activated software to snap tens of thousands of webcam images and screenshots on laptops that school officials said were missing.

But US attorney Zane Memeger says criminal charges aren't warranted.

Two civil cases alleging spying continue, however.  Mark Haltzman is the lawyer for Harriton High School student Blake Robbins and Lower Merion graduate Jalil Hasan, whose families have filed suit (see related story):

"[The decision] underscores the importance of Sen. Specter's efforts to amend the criminal statutes to close the loopholes in our current laws."

Specter has introduced legislation to update electronic wiretap regulations to include video surveillance.

The decision comes as the Lower Merion school board has adopted new measures requiring the written permission of the parent and student before remotely accessing their laptops (see related story).