FORT WAYNE – A federal judge says an northeast Indiana school district violated the First Amendment rights of two teenage girls who were punished for posting sexually suggestive photos on MySpace during their summer vacation.

The teens filed a lawsuit in October 2009 claiming the Smith-Green Community School Corp. improperly banned the then-sophomores from extracurricular activities for expression that didn’t involve Churubusco High School.

The suit contended that the district humiliated the girls by requiring them to apologize to an all-male coaches’ board and undergo counseling after the photographs were circulated at school.

U.S. District Judge Philip Simon ruled Wednesday that the photographs were protected by the First Amendment and didn’t meet the definition of obscenity under Indiana law.

School district attorney W. Erik Weber said Thursday the district was disappointed but hadn’t decided whether it would appeal.