The Sexual Violence Prevention Association (SVPA) urges Mississippi to take action to prevent strip searches of children in K-12 schools. We proudly stand with the brave students and their families who are suing McAdams High School, alleging unlawful and “sexually invasive” strip searches were conducted against seven students. We are demanding that Mississippi officials investigate this misconduct and enact systems to prevent future strip searches.
According to the federal civil rights lawsuit, filed on February 10th, 2026, seven students were removed from a restroom at McAdams High School by school resource officer (SRO) Leroy Wise and other school officials. The students were then detained in a school hallway, and individually taken into a separate room to be strip searched. The lawsuit alleges that the boys were told that they could not refuse to be strip searched without facing further punishment. They were forced to undress, then squat and bend over, exposing their genitals and other intimate body parts. The search was conducted under the suspicion that the students possessed “contraband” after a bathroom vape detector was triggered. However, no vapes were found during the search.
The Attala County School District’s Board (ACSDB) acknowledged that the conduct violated district policy, yet no accountability or justice has been demonstrated publicly. The lawsuit alleges that Principal Dietrich Harmon was not only aware of the search–he approved and participated in it. This incident demonstrates a systemic problem caused by inadequate policies, inadequate procedures, and a serious lack of accountability. This was not the action of one misguided individual. The principal, school resource officer, and a number of other administrators actively participated.
Strip searches are state-sanctioned sexual violence- when the government allows sexual acts to be performed on someone without their consent, typically by claiming it is necessary for “safety.” These searches are a violation of consent, autonomy, and privacy that cause immense trauma, especially when performed against children. Strip searches are also a common site of state-tolerated sexual violence; when the government allows sexual violence to happen by ignoring reports, silencing survivors, and averting accountability.
In Attala County, school officials performed nonconsensual sexual acts against children and were not held accountable for this misconduct. This is both state-sanctioned and state-tolerated sexual violence. Strip searches are inherently state-sanctioned sexual violence. These searches were also conducted in a way that violated the institution’s policies. Though the district acknowledged the policy violation, no disciplinary action has been publicly acknowledged.
This case was not ‘a few bad apples.’ It reflects a systemic failure that demands systemic reform. Attala County is not the only district to have inadequate codes that allow sexual violence against children. As Superintendent, you have the power to ensure that violating strip searches, like the ones that occurred on February 10th, never happen again in the state of Mississippi.
The SVPA is urging the ACSDB to amend its policy on strip searches. The current policy allows children to be strip searched if they are suspected of having contraband, like vapes. A new policy must be enacted that only allows strip searches when safety is immediately threatened. Additionally, the new policy must establish formalized procedures for documenting and reporting each search. Lastly, the individuals involved in the misconduct at McAdams High School must be publicly held accountable by the ACSDB.
The SVPA is also strongly urging the Mississippi Superintendent and the State Board of Education (MSBE) to issue guidance for all schools under its jurisdiction on proper policies and procedures for strip searches. These searches should only be performed when immediately necessary for safety, with formalized measures in place to prevent abuse. Additionally, we urge the MSBE to audit the ACSDB for failing to properly handle this case and to investigate any other instances of misconduct by school officials in Attala County. All findings must be released publicly to ensure transparency.
These letters are the latest in the SVPA’s nationwide efforts to prevent strip searches and address state sexual violence. The organization has successfully advanced legislative reforms in Oklahoma, Colorado, Connecticut, Montana, Idaho, and San Francisco.
“A child potentially having a vape is not a justifiable reason for grown adults to force that child to strip, then squat and bend over. Even if these children had vapes, the administrators’ actions were more than unjustified. This was mass state sexual violence,” said Omny Miranda Martone, Founder and CEO of the SVPA. “No adult in their right mind should have allowed this to happen. Mississippi cannot condone laws and policies that allow pedophilia against youth. We trust our schools to educate and protect our children, not to sexually violate them.”
