in Curiosity

Buffalo (ECN) - With text messages becoming a ubiquitous part of teenage life, the experimentation with new, and likely illegal, behaviors became an inevitable outgrowth. The most recent trend to catch parent's eye is the practice of sexting, or the sending of nude self-portraits via cell phone. With investigations of dozens of teens pending in six states, the repercussions of this particular trend have become an explosively controversial situation.

The most recent incident involves two teens in Spotsylvania, Virginia who pursued nude photos of their classmates. The teens, aged 15 and 18, were charged with solicitation and intent to distribute child pornography after they were found with pictures of three minors, including one in elementary school.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has begun tracking the phenomenon, noting that one-fourth of the 2,100 minors found to be victims of child pornography initially released the photo of themselves voluntarily, often via text message. Separate incidents have brought charges in Frankfort, Kentucky; Mason, Ohio; Greensburg, Pennsylvania; and Waukesha, Wisconsin. Along with the spate of recent legal action arises new controversies. A recent poll has suggested that nearly one-third of all teenagers have posted online, or texted to friends, nude or semi-nude photos of themselves. Unfortunately any photo is a button-press away from being distributed widely, rather than remaining an illicit communique to a boyfriend or girlfriend.

In many states a girlfriend texting a racy photo to her boyfriend could result in the boyfriend being registered as a sex offender. While law enforcement is trying to adjust enforcement policies based upon whether or not the naked photos were distributed maliciously, the line between inappropriate conduct and illegality is a hard one to draw. Many judges have been leaning toward counseling or community service as adequate punishment for sexting. For now the problem often seems to be a lack of foresight and lack of knowledge concerning the legal ramifications of their actions.

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