By Cindy Kranz
The Cincinnati Enquirer

SPRINGFIELD TWP. - A five-member disciplinary board at St. Xavier High School Friday deliberated the fate of two students who were suspended this week for allegedly selling sexually oriented videos to 13 other students.

No decision was released publicly late Friday.

The board, made up of four teachers and one assistant principal, first held a hearing Friday with the two students, then debated the case behind closed doors. The two could be expelled.

The Hamilton County Prosecutor's Office is investigating possible criminal charges against the students. It's illegal to sell obscene materials to juveniles and for juveniles to possess such materials.

The two sellers, underclassmen, were suspended Wednesday after a student at the all-boys school dropped a pornographic DVD while tucking in his shirt in front of an administrator.

The 13 buyers, mostly freshmen and sophomores, are still attending school, but could face disciplinary action, said Paul Zook, St. Xavier spokesman.

School officials reviewed the DVDs, which had heterosexual sex acts, he said.

"Of all the (videos) reviewed by our people, they found none of them with kiddie porn. They found no snuff videos - the violent stuff," Zook said.

Once the disciplinary board makes a recommendation, the assistant principal decides on discipline. Parents could appeal the decision to the principal, whose ruling is final.

Disciplinary measures include detention, demerits, probation, suspension and expulsion. Among grounds for expulsion, according to the school's handbook, are "conduct inconsistent with the philosophy of the school."

St. Xavier is a Jesuit college preparatory school with 1,450 students. Last year, the high-achieving school produced the largest number of National Merit semifinalists - 28 - in the state for the third straight year.

E-mail ckranz@enquirer.com