sending nude or partially nude photos via cell phone, is becoming more and more common among high school students around the country, including Athens County.
Cell phone picture messaging can be an easy way for teenagers and young adults to keep in touch, but sharing too much can get them in trouble with the law.
Sexting sending nude or partially nude photos via cell phone, is becoming more and more common among high school students around the country, including Athens County.
Twenty-two percent of 13- to 19-year-old girls and 18 percent of 13- to 19-year-old boys have taken or electronically sent nude pictures of themselves, according to The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy's 2008 Sex and Tech survey.
Sexting usually begins with a young girl taking a picture of herself and sending it to her boyfriend, said Deputy Doug Crites, who is in charge of all juvenile crimes for the Athens County Sheriff's Department. When they break up, the boy will send the picture to all his friends.
Another reason why teenagers take pictures is to brag about their sexual experiences, Crites said.
Back in the day they used to call it 'locker room talk
' and you'd talk about what goes on
but now you can talk about it and have a picture to prove (what you've done)
he said.
But regardless of why these pictures get taken, if one or both parties are under 18, they are breaking the law, Crites said.
According to the Ohio Revised Code, it is illegal to create, reproduce or publish obscene material that has a minor as one of its participants. Doing so can be considered creating child pornography. That means the person taking the picture and the people who send it are committing a felony and risk probation or jail time, Crites said.
Crites investigated 10 cases of sexting last year in Athens County, but that doesn't include cases handled by other deputies.
We just get the tip of the iceberg
Crites said. It's hard to imagine how many parents are dealing with this.
None of the teenagers involved was charged, Crites said. Their phones were taken away and their parents were notified, but Crites said sexting is becoming so much of a problem the department will start charging participants soon.
One of the reasons sexting is so common is that teenagers don't know they are breaking the law, Crites said.
There are people out there who take (sexual) pictures and do it for illegal gains
but these are kids just being goofy
and they don't know the seriousness or the hurtfulness of what they are doing
Crites said. They could get criminally charged
and we don't want to do that
