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Lowell Middle School Teacher Charged With Sending Partially Nude Photo to Teen

Jaryd Palmer, 34, of Andover, was arraigned Wednesday on a charge of disseminating obscene matter to a minor

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A Lowell, Masssachusetts, middle school teacher was arrested this week after he allegedly sent a partially nude photo of himself to a 16-year-old male who is known to him over Snapchat.

Jaryd Palmer, 34, of Andover, was arraigned Wednesday on a charge of disseminating obscene matter to a minor in Lowell District Court, the Middlesex District Attorney's Office said. Bail was set at $500 cash and he was ordered to stay away from the victim and not to have unsupervised contact with children. He is scheduled to return to court on July 1.

Palmer is currently working as a middle school teacher in Lowell Public Schools, the district attorney's office said.

The Lowell Public Schools website still listed Palmer on Wednesday afternoon as a sixth grader at Henry J. Robinson Middle School. His bio says he has taught for the past seven years "in communities around Lowell."

It was not immediately known if he has an attorney.

Palmer was arrested Tuesday by Tewksbury police after the parents of a 16-year-old boy reported to them that their son had been communicating with Palmer over Snapchat and that Palmer had sent him a photo of his genitals, the district attorney's office said. The teen reportedly asked Palmer not to send him Snapchats of that nature and took a screenshot of the image before reporting it to his parents.

“This case serves as an important reminder to parents and children that it is critical to have open and honest communication around social media,” Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said in a statement. “We need to remind our young people that if something is happening online that is making them uncomfortable, feels in appropriate, or in this case is illegal, they need to immediately report it to a trusted adult.”

The case is being investigated by the district attorney's office and Tewksbury police.

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