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 A South Carolina high school teacher has resigned after a nude picture of herself was posted on social media — but if anyone deserves blame, it's the student who shared it, she says. 
 
 Leigh Anne Arthur, a teacher at the Union County Career and Technical Center in Union, about 70 miles north of Columbia, said the picture was for her husband for Valentine's Day. 
 
 But on Feb. 19, while Arthur was on hall patrol duty, a student grabbed her phone from her desk, she told NBC affiliate WYFF. The unnamed 16-year-old, realizing the phone didn't have a passcode, allegedly thumbed through it. 
 
 Related: Kindergarten Teacher Fired Over Naked Photo Shoot at China School 
 
 "He had to hit my apps button and to open up all my apps and then open my gallery," Arthur said. 
 
 The nude picture was sent to others via text and social media, prompting the Union Public Safety Department to investigate. 
 
 A department spokesman told NBC News on Tuesday that its review is still ongoing and no charges have been filed. 
 
 While Arthur says she's not entirely sure she even wants her job back teaching mechanical engineering and computer programming, students at the high school have started a petition supporting her. 
 
 Related: NBC Philadelphia: Middle School Naked Photo Scandal at Chester County Charter School 
 
 Union County School District interim Superintendent David Eubanks said that she either had the choice to go through the dismissal process or resign since it was determined she shouldered some of the responsibility to keep those "inappropriate" pictures private. 
 
 Either way, Arthur said, she forgives the student — but he should have known better. 
 
 "He had the ultimate decision to take pictures of my pictures, and he had the ultimate decision to send them out," she said. ||||| UNION COUNTY, SC (WSPA) — Leigh Anne Arthur, a teacher at the Union Co. Career & Technology Center has resigned after a nude photo of her was spread through the school says the Interim Superintendent for the school district. 
 
 The district says Arthur had nude photos of herself on her phone, and that a student took her phone while she was out of the room and took pictures of her picture. 
 
 The student then shared the photo throughout the school. 
 
 The district became of aware of the incident last Monday, and she resigned on Tuesday, according to the district. 
 
 Arthur reached out to 7News after seeing this article and told us her side of the story. 
 
 She says she the week of Valentines, she had some pictures in the gallery on her cell phone that were intended for her husband. 
 
 She said she left her cell phone on her desk to go out and be a hall monitor between classes. 
 
 In that time, 5 minutes, a student went and took pictures of her phone from his phone and shared them “with anyone in class who wanted them�?. 
 
 She said the kid then said at the end of class “your day of reckoning is coming.�? 
 
 Later, she was told what had happened, and checked with the student’s parents who she said were 100% on her side. 
 
 The kid went to principal and admitted it and two witnesses also went to the principal. 
 
 She says the principal asked for her resignation the next Tuesday. 
 
 She says the district told her there was no policy about “inappropriate material on her cell phone�? but they were firing her for that reason. 
 
 She was also in trouble for “making her phone easily accessible,�? according to Arthur. 
 
 She made a police report and the student’s phone is now in possession of Union County Sheriff’s Office. ||||| A Union County High school teacher has resigned after a student stole personal pictures off her cell phone. 
 
 Leigh Anne Arthur says one of her students took the pictures while she was out of the classroom and distributed it to other students. 
 
 Arthur has been a teacher in Union county for over 13 years, but that came to an end two weeks ago. 
 
 “He opened up my gallery for my pictures and he found inappropriate pictures of myself and he took pictures from his cell phone of that and then he told the whole class that he would send them to whoever wanted them,” says Arthur. 
 
 Arthur says the student warned her that something bad was coming. 
 
 “The student who actually took my phone and took pictures turned around and told me your day of reckoning is coming,” says Arthur. 
 
 Superintendent David Eubanks says the school has concern that Arthur could be contributing to the delinquency of a a minor. 
 
 Arthur said this wasn’t her fault and that she did not knowingly leave her cell phone sitting on her desk knowing that those pictures were on there. 
 
 She says even though her privacy was invaded by the student, the school district still wanted her to resign from her teaching position, which she did the following week. 
 
 “The whole premise of my privacy being invaded his being ignored and that’s what’s wrong,” said Arthur. 
 
 She says according to school district policy, the student should have been expelled, but to her knowledge, has not happened yet. 
 
 Arthur has one last message for the student who did this: “I forgive you. It don’t make it anymore right. But what’s done is done and I hope you learned your lesson. And I hope that you learned from this mistake and I hope that you have a wife one day that you treat like gold and you won’t want this to ever happen to her.” 
 
 Arthur says parents and students are signing a petition to have her teach again, and the amount of support has been overwhelming. 
 
 Arthur says she plans on pressing charges against the student next week. ||||| A teacher at Union County High School said she has filed a lawsuit after a student spread a nude picture of her, according to school officials. 
 
 
 
 Leigh Ann Arthur said in a statement to WYFF News 4: 
 
 
 
 "I can confirm that my attorneys, John Read IV and Jessica Salvini filed a lawsuit at Union County Courthouse this morning at 9:00 am. The lawsuit is against Union County School District and David Eubanks (Individually and as a Representative for Union County Schools). I can also confirm the lawsuit is based on the false accusations made by Dr. David Eubanks against me along with policies and due process not appropriately followed by Union County School District." 
 
 Arthur resigned after a student spread a nude picture of her through text messages and social media, according to Union County School District interim superintendent David Eubanks. 
 
 Eubanks said a student got hold of Leigh Anne Arthur's phone and took a picture of a nude picture that was on her phone. 
 
 He said the student then sent the picture out through text messaging and social media. 
 
 The incident happened on Monday and Arthur resigned on Tuesday, Eubanks said. 
 
 Eubanks said Arthur was in the wrong because her phone was unlocked and she made the nude picture available to her students. 
 
 To read release from superintendent that blames Arthur for incident, click here 
 
 Arthur said she took the picture to give to her husband. 
 
 She said the student took the phone from her desk while she was patrolling the halls. 
 
 She feels the student should be held responsible for his actions. 
 
 Arthur said he knows right from wrong, "He had the ultimate decision to take pictures of my pictures and he had the ultimate decision to send them out." 
 
 She said, "He had to hit my apps button and to open up all my apps and then open my gallery." 
 
 The Union County Sheriff's Office is now investigating. Eubanks said the office will determine whether the student is charged. 
 
 To see what has happened to the 16-year-old on Friday, click here. 
 
 For updates on this, click here to get info on how to download our mobile app. ||||| UPDATE MARCH 3 
 
 It has come to our attention that interim superintendent David Eubanks has dismissed the petition as "insignificant". 
 
 
 
 
 
 Also he has said that he has seen evidence that suggest Mrs Arthur routinely allowed students to use her phone. "evidence indicates that students routinely used the teacher’s cell phone with full her permission". This is absolutely false. The evidence that he is speaking of comes from a statement that was made by a fellow student, which the school revised in their statement. The student said he used the phone only once, strictly to order parts for a project, parts that she paid for out of her pocket. Superintendent Eubanks is attempting to dis-credit Mrs Arthur by saying the students "routinely" used her phone, with full permission. 
 
 
 
 
 
 As far as the petition being "insignificant" we would have to disagree, this petition is the voice of the people, it has garnered a great deal of attention. At this point 8,000 individuals have taken the time to sign it, near and far. 
 
 
 
 
 
 We would like to stress that the student is under investigation by authorities and will face consequences for his actions. He has expressed nothing but sincere remorse for his actions, we ask that you do not show hatred towards him, he realizes that what he did was wrong. We are not defending his actions by any means, but some of the things that have been said are utterly hateful, we must keep in mind that this is a fellow classmate who still has a life to live and will remember this for the remainder of his life. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Again we strongly urge you to sign and share this petition, show the superintendent that we are not insignificant! 
 
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 UPDATE MARCH 2 
 
 First and foremost we would like to thank everyone who has signed and shared our petition, never did we think that it would get so much attention. The ultimate goal of the petition is to get Mrs. Arthur reinstated, though we realize that is unlikely to happen. 
 
 The students who are involved in the incident are under investigation. Another thing that you have to realize is that we have went to school with the student responsible for years, the intention of the petition is not to have him absolutely berated, but to have Mrs. Arthur reinstated, everyone makes mistakes. 
 
 We understand that it will be a while before any decisions are made because the situation has to be thoroughly examined and understood by authorities and the school. 
 
 Again, we appreciate your support and strongly urge you to sign and share this petition. 
 
 
 
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 Leigh Anne Arthur is the victim of a blatant attack of her privacy. Personal photographs were illegally obtained by a student and were sent to other students in the school(Union County High). After being escorted off of school property, we (the students) are left to believe that she has been forced to, or given little choice but to resign. Mrs.Arthur has not only shown tremendous dedication to her students, but also the mechatronics program itself, often reaching out to local businesses and colleges to get materials that would not normally be available for the class. 
 
 With that being said, the student(s) responsible have not received any sort of punishment. The circumstances in which Mrs.Arthur was let go is unacceptable, and must be corrected. We strongly urge you to sign and share this petition. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Sincerely, 
 
 Jacob Barnett 
 
 Josh Sinclair 
 
 Matthew Caldwell 
 
 
 
 And many more students who just want their teacher back
– Leigh Ann Arthur taught in Union, SC, for 13 years. Then her decision to leave her unlocked phone on her desk on Feb. 19 put an end to her career. While she was on hall patrol duty for five minutes in between classes, the engineering and computer programming teacher at Union County Career and Technical Center says a 16-year-old student grabbed her phone and found a nude photo she had taken for her husband for Valentine's Day, per NBC News and WSPA. "He took pictures from his cell phone of that and then he told the whole class that he would send them to whoever wanted them," Arthur tells WSPA. After class, the student told her, "Your day of reckoning is coming," Arthur says. It was only later she found out the photo had been seen. The student indeed shared the photo through texts and on social media, superintendent David Eubanks tells WYFF, adding Arthur was given the choice to resign or go through a process for dismissal. She resigned last Tuesday. "I think we have a right to privacy, but when we take inappropriate information or pictures, we had best make sure it remains private," Eubanks tells the State. Arthur says the student hasn't been punished. She plans to press charges and has also complained to the Union Public Safety Department, which is investigating. "The whole premise of my privacy being invaded is being ignored and that's what's wrong," she says. Some 1,000 people have signed a petition to have her job restored, though Arthur says she's not sure if she'd take it. (In neighboring North Carolina, teenagers are the ones facing trouble over racy photos.)