SC- Police shocked by what they find on kid's phones

1-28-2009 SOuth Carolina:

Some Aiken teens may be playing with fire if they take part in a recent trend of sending explicit images over cell phones.

Several teens around the country have been charged with sex crimes after "sexting" - a newly coined term for the sending and receiving of explicit images and texts - and law enforcement officials want Aiken teens to heed the warnings before they find themselves in hot water.

"Across the board, every parent needs to be aware of what we are finding," said Aiken Public Safety Juvenile Division Capt. Maryann Burgess. "They take pictures of themselves and send them to each other without even thinking about it."

But law enforcement officers are putting a lot of thought into the matter.

"Sexting" is most often associated with teens taking nude photos of themselves and sending them out via cell phone. Both are winding up on the Internet and on cell phones throughout the area.

Burgess said lewd photos are popping up on nine out of every 10 phones investigators confiscate from teenagers during unrelated investigations. That's not to say nine out of 10 teens are taking photos, but by the time law enforcement is investigating a case, the vast majority of phones taken during an investigation have lewd photos on them, she explained.

According to a study conducted by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy and CosmoGirl.com., more than one in five teen girls have sent nude or seminude images of themselves. Almost one in five boys has done the same.

Some of the pictures are lewd, and others are bordering on pornographic.

The law in South Carolina distinguishes between "erotic" and "pornographic" images, explained investigator Mark Patterson with the Aiken County Sheriff's Office.

"Most of the pictures are erotic; girls sending pictures of themselves to their boyfriends," he said.

Pornographic images focus on genitalia.

"We see that, too, but mostly we are finding erotic images," he said.

In either case, the images are becoming more commonplace and sending them or even having them is a crime.

Investigators are trying to first educate teenagers about the consequences, saying they could charge the juveniles with anything from improper use of a telephone to possession and distribution of child pornography.

Lt. Troy Elwell, who has an extensive background in juvenile investigations, explained that the consequences of a child porn conviction are serious and lasting.

"It's nothing you want to have anything to do with," he said. "With child porn, each image is a different count."

Fifteen images means 15 charges. Each charge carries with it the possibility of three years in prison and mandatory registration as a sex offender.

It's not just the legal repercussions that can destroy a child; there are psychological impacts, as well.

A high school student in Aiken County who sent a nude photo of herself to her boyfriend learned several other students had seen the pictures after they broke up. The teenager in the pictures was devastated.

"She asked her parents if she could go to a different school," Patterson said. "But once you hit that send button, you will never get it back."

School officials have rules in place that prevent teenagers from using their phones during school hours, but law enforcement officers are calling on parents to monitor their children's cell phones.

"Be nosy," Elwell said.

Ask questions and set up ground rules, Burgess added.

Investigators and school officials can look at the images on a cell phone, and parents have the right to do the same.

"If you are footing the bill and the child is under 17, they have no expectation of privacy," Elwell said.

A cell phone agreement requires a contract, and, in most cases, a parent is making the agreement.

"These phones belong to the parents," Burgess said.

Police said they are talking with area students about the foreseeable problems down the road. These photos can haunt them for years, police said.

"In the worst case scenario, the images can be posted on a child pornography site," Elwell said.

Police are warning parents that teenagers elsewhere in the country have been charged with being in possession of pornographic images. Deputies in Aiken have not filed any charges against teenagers thus far, but Patterson said he has considered it in a handful of cases. And he knows there is a possibility a case will rise to that level. ..News Source.. by KAREN DAILY, Staff writer