Lawyer: Official took 5th in court

Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA

An attorney says the technology coordinator of a suburban Philadelphia school district accused of spying on students through laptop web- cams invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination at a deposition.

Student Blake Robbins is suing the Lower Merion School District, accusing officials of photographing him at home without permission.

District officials have acknowledged secretly activating webcams to find 42 school-issued laptops.

Robbins’ attorney, Mark Haltzman, says Carol Cafiero repeatedly declined to answer questions at a deposition Friday.

A federal judge had suggested that she could do so when he declined to quash the subpoena, but he noted that she had not been indicted or named as a target of any investigation.

Cafiero’s attorney, Charles Mandracchia, did not immediately return a message left at his office Saturday.

He has said that his client did nothing wrong.