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 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 there has been no accountability or justice demonstrated publicly. The lawsuit alleges that Principal Dietrich Harmon was not only aware of the search, he also approved and participated in it. This incident demonstrates a systemic problem with 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.” Strip 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, but no one has been held accountable; they were effectively tolerated.
ACSDB policy only allows for strip searches in “emergency situations,” which is defined as when “the destruction of evidence or use of contraband is an immediate possibility.” This definition is inadequate as it does not justify the use of a strip search. Vapes are often classified as “contraband” but they are not an immediate and significant danger.
The SVPA calls for the ACSDB to redefine an emergency situation as a situation in which an individual would have contraband that could cause significant and immediate bodily harm to oneself or others. In legal language, there must be individualized probable cause to justify such a violating search. School officials must document the probable cause and reasonable efforts must be made to inform the student’s guardian of the search. All school officials and SROs must receive new training that aligns with these policies. Additionally, principals must be trained on procedures and documentation to ensure proper oversight.
The SVPA calls on the Mississippi State Board of Education (MSBE) to issue guidance for all schools under its jurisdiction on the policy and procedures of strip searches. The MSBE should advise that school policy clearly mandates that strip searches are only to be conducted if there is probable cause to believe a student has possession of an item that will significantly harm themselves or others. Searches should be conducted by a school official who is of the same gender as the student. Searches should be properly documented, including their stated cause, and immediately reported to the student’s guardian. Additionally, the SVPA urges the MSBE to audit the ACSDB for failing to properly handle this case and any other instances of misconduct by school officials, and publicly release the findings in full transparency.
These letters are the latest in the SVPA’s nationwide efforts to address state sexual violence. The organization has successfully advanced legislative reforms in Oklahoma, Colorado, Connecticut, Montana, Idaho, and San Francisco, and continues to advocate for policies that reduce strip searches and prevent sexual violence.
“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.”
