Photo company Lifetouch dropped by Pittsburgh-area school amid Epstein files fallout

A Pittsburgh-area school is ending its partnership with the photo company Lifetouch after it came under fire for its connection to convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. 

According to the Mount Pleasant Area School District, any photos scheduled for the spring have been canceled and they are looking for a new vendor for the 2026-27 school year.

In a letter to families, the district says the partnership ended immediately. More information will be sent to families that are impacted by the new measure.

This all stems from former Apollo Global Management CEO Leon Black being named in the Epstein files. Apollo bought Lifetouch's parent company, Shutterfly, in 2019. Black has not been charged with any crime in connection with the Epstein investigation. 

Lifetouch was not named in the Epstein files, and the company says on its website that the claims of any relationship between it and Epstein are "completely false." Lifetouch goes on to say in a statement that pictures are only shared for the purposes of school records.

According to attorney Phil DiLucente, who has no involvement with the school district or Lifetouch, many parents are concerned when connections like this happen with a company and a heinous crime. DiLucente said any connection can be all it takes for anyone to sever ties with a company or organization.

"We do not know the extent," DiLucente said. "We do not know the purpose, and we do not know if there was any intent."

He says if parents have concerns their child was victimized in any way, they should contact the FBI or file Freedom of Information Act requests to federal agencies.

"If it's name specific or if it's event specific, you can request those types of documents and that can at least get you started on the path that you need to be," DiLucente said.

Lifetouch said it follows all federal, state and local privacy laws and it never shares, sells or licenses student images to AI, and Lifetouch itself was not named in the Epstein files.

"We cannot suggest correlation equals causation," DiLucente said. "Everyone wants to jump to conclusions, but I think this has to play out a lot more."

Mount Pleasant said they hold all vendors to the highest standards and expectations.