PENSACOLA, Fla. – The latest twist in the case involving a rigged homecoming queen election at a Florida high school involves a controversial yearbook photo that was somehow deemed fit to print, according to News 6 partner News4Jax.
The Tate High School yearbook photo, which can be seen in the video embedded below, shows Emily Grover wearing a crown with a group of other girls but while her classmates are clearly visible, Grover is covered with a clip art horse positioned in a way so that its rear and bucking back legs are superimposed directly over her face.
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Escambia County School District Superintendent Dr. Tim Smith told NorthEscambia.com that officials are attempting to recall the yearbooks and the edit never should have been published.
Grover was expelled from the school after she and her mother were arrested in March after it was discovered that they hacked into student accounts to cast fraudulent votes in the school’s homecoming election, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Grover was 17 at the time but has since turned 18, prompting prosecutors to charge her as an adult.
Her lawyer, Randy Etheridge, told News4Jax that decision was expected but he still thinks there are other motives fueling the prosecution, although he wouldn’t elaborate on what those motives were.
He said Grover was a star student who was involved in extracurriculars and never got into trouble but since her arrest, she’s become more reclusive and opted for homeschooling.
“One of the top tennis players for the team, was involved in student government association, basically everything you could do at the school before this happened,” Etheridge told News4Jax.
Grover’s mother, Laura Carroll, was an assistant principal at Bellview Elementary School when the votes were cast in October 2020. She’s since been suspended from her job.
Click here to read more on this story at News4Jax.com.