AMERICAN FORK -- Two American Fork boys may face charges after accessing pornography on a school computer and showing it to classmates.

American Fork police Sgt. Gregg Ludlow said the incident occurred March 31 in a computer lab at Forbes Elementary School. The 11-year-old fifth-graders allegedly tried repeatedly to break through the school's filter system with different search words, finally settling on one that passed the filter. From the site the students were able to pull up, the boys jumped to other pornographic sites, Ludlow said.

The boys then reportedly called over nine classmates to view the pornographic material. Ludlow said police are still investigating the incident, reviewing some misdemeanor charges or a third-degree charge of dealing in harmful material to a minor.

"There's a possibility that charges will be filed," he said.

Ludlow said the incident was only brought to light on April 8, when two of the boys who were shown the pornography reported the incident. The boys were having a hard time getting the images from their minds, he said, when one boy went to the office on his own, and the other came in with his mother.

Rhonda Bromley, spokeswoman for the Alpine School District, said the principal of the school immediately began an investigation, after which he contacted district authorities about the case. In the course of the investigation, Bromley said the principal and district officials decided the police needed to be involved.

"Anything that deals with the kids, we feel like we're on the same side" with police, she said.

Certain aspects of the boys' actions warranted the police's involvement, but Bromley said there were also concerns for the students' safety. Officials also needed to investigate the incident fully to determine whether there were adults outside the school trying to communicate to students on the inappropriate sites. Bromley said the server has been taken from the school to investigate everything that happened during the incident, as well as whether it has happened before.

Bromley said the district uses the same filter as the Utah Education Network, and breaches have occurred before. It is nearly impossible to prevent any breaches in the end, but the filter is updated almost daily, she said. When a problem occurs, technicians work to fix it and ensure the trigger word does not cause a problem again.

Technicians are currently looking through the server to figure out what words the two boys used and how many times they tried to get through the filter, she said. Parents are understandably concerned about the incident, and Bromley said the district is working to keep the students protected from a similar problem.

"Parents want to feel safe when they send their kids to school," she said.

Bromley said the problem of children looking at inappropriate material is not a new issue, but it is being dealt with more seriously now. The availability of the Internet and students' use of cell phones to send pornographic pictures has made legislators take notice of the issue, and police are involved more often. The problem is usually associated with older students, but this incident shows that young children can be involved as well.

The two boys were suspended for the last two days of school before spring break and will be back in school Monday. Bromley said administrators will work with the boys to find the appropriate punishment, as well as to ensure the children understand the seriousness of their actions.

"If they're having a problem at such a young age, that's a concern," she said.

The boys have not yet been charged, but any charges they face will be sealed in juvenile court. Nancy Volmer, spokeswoman for the state courts, said charges in juvenile court are called "petitions," because juveniles do not have criminal culpability. If the petition's equivalent charge is a misdemeanor, the courts cannot release information about the case or even acknowledge it exists. A felony equivalent would be made public, but only for juveniles older than 14. There are different resources available in juvenile court to help youth such as these two boys, as the focus is not to lock them away and punish them, she said.

"The whole goal behind juvenile court is rehabilitation," she said.

Ray Wahl, juvenile court administrator for the state, said the juvenile courts serve to determine an offender's risk. The court serves more for rehabilitation than retribution, which can be a goal in adult court. Young offenders will likely be referred to private counseling or community service, dispositions that would shield them from the harmful influence of experienced older offenders. Wahl could not comment on the two young boys involved, but he said the court would be focused on determining risk factors and helping the children.

"What they're trying to do is address behavior," he said.