EMMAUS, Pa. – from www.wfmz.com – Police said they are investigating how pictures of students from several area school districts appeared on a pornographic website.

While the investigation is still in its early stages, Sgt. Karl Geschwindt, Emmaus Police Department in Lehigh County, said it appears the students willingly took the pictures themselves and that someone somehow got hold of the pictures and posted them on the website in question.

Thomas Seidenberger, superintendent of the East Penn School District, told 69 News he spoke with police Monday morning. The investigation involves students in his district, among several others, said Seidenberger, who added that his district will fully cooperate with police. Seidenberger declined to comment further on the investigation.

Emmaus police said they were alerted to the photos by parents, who said their children recently discovered them. They said it appears the photos may have been on the website for awhile.

It is still unclear where the website originated, and it may have been from overseas, police said.

Other agencies, including the Lehigh County District Attorney’s office and the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office, are involved in the investigation, Geschwindt said.

District Attorney Jim Martin and Nils Hagen-Frederiksen, a spokesman for the attorney general, would neither confirm nor deny the investigation.