A 12-year-old boy from the Herndon area of Fairfax County has been charged with food adulteration in connection with four sharp pieces of metal that were found in cafeteria food at Rachel Carson Middle School over the course of the last two weeks.
Police had been investigating how three sewing pins and a part of a paper clip managed to appear in the cafeteria food.
No one was hurt after the items were found on four separate days.
The first incident occurred on April 24 when a cafeteria worker discovered a pin in a cup of apple sauce. The second happened on April 26 when a teacher found a pin that had been stuck into the foil top of a container of yogurt. A third incident took place on May 4 when a cafeteria worker found one in a cup of cranberry sauce.
On May 9, Fairfax County police alerted parents that a fourth incident occurred when a student discovered a piece of a paperclip in a chicken nugget on May 8.
The school released a notice to parents through its e-mail alert system on Sunday after the third incident informing them of the incidents and the ongoing efforts to "maintain a safe and secure environment in our schools."
In the e-mail, it was speculated that someone may have taken the pins from one of the school's art classrooms and deliberately placed them into the food. Police have not issued any more information about the items or the boy accused of the crime.
Food adulteration is a class three felony that carries with it a term of five to 20 years in prison if convicted, according to a police press release.
Rachel Carson Middle School enrolls approximately 1,100 seventh- and eighth-grade students and is located on the 13000 block of McLearen Road, just south of the incorporated Town of Herndon.