Montco DA to look into webcam claim

Montgomery County prosecutors will look into a lawsuit's controversial claim that Harriton High School officials spied on a 15-year-old student in his home via a camera on a school-issued laptop.

District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman said this afternoon that her office learned of the surveillance allegation from news reports yesterday, two days after the student and his parents sued in federal court, claiming their privacy had been invaded.

Ferman stopped short of saying an investigation had begun.

"We're going to be looking into the situation to see if a criminal investigation is warranted," she said in a telephone interview.

The Lower Merion School District has said cameras on school-issued laptops were used by district officials - but only when laptops were reported missing or stolen. The district deactivated that security system yesterday amid news of the lawsuit's allegations.

The suit claims state and federal wiretap laws were violated. U.S. Department of Justice officials have not yet responded to a request for comment. Ferman said it is too early to say if her office's examination of the episode could also involve federal investigators.