Teens charged in 'sexting' case

1-30-2010 Washington:

LACEY, Wash. - Thurston County Prosecutors charged three teenagers Friday with Class C felonies for allegedly texting a naked picture of an underage girl.

Earlier this week authorities confiscated nine cell phones with the "sexted" picture on it. Lacey police say it all started when a 14-year-old girl took an explicit photo of herself and sent it to her 14-year-old boyfriend. When the relationship ended badly, that is when police say the now ex-boyfriend started to forward the picture to others.

Prosecutors say the pictures can be considered child pornography. If convicted of the felonies, the students would be required to register as sex offenders. Wayne Graham is a juvenile deputy prosecuting attorney and warns teens they need to "think before they hit send on their phone. Once they hit send they are no longer in control who views a very private or intimate photo."

The North Thurston School district is using this case as a educational opportunity. When news of the "sexting" scandal broke, middle school teachers held a lecture to warn kids about the dangers of sending graphic photos out into cyberspace. School spokesperson Courtney Schrieve says,"I don't think young people today think about when they press send. It's going global. It's out there forever."

The school is planning to hand out flyers to students and parents to warn them about the "sexting" trend. Thursday, school officials called every middle school family to tell them about the "sexting" case.

Grandparent Trish Arehart got the call and says she had not heard of "sexting." She immediately "went through everything " in her grandson's phone. She also warned the 13-year-old about sending bad pictures out.

"I told him this can get you into trouble. I said girls that send you pictures like that are not girls you want to be with," she said. ..Source.. KYLE MOORE / KING 5 News



Teens face felony 'sexting' charges

Court: Sex offender registration on the line

Three Chinook Middle School students were formally charged Friday in juvenile court with felonies stemming from a "sexting" incident in which they allegedly sent nude photos of a 14-year-old girl via their cell phones.

Copies of the photo have spread from phone to phone among a large number of North Thurston middle school students, according to Lacey police. The mother of the alleged victim said Friday that the photo has found its way to Olympia High School.

“It’s everywhere,” said the girl’s mother, identified here only by her first name, Toni, to protect the identity of her daughter.

The students accused of sending the photo are identified as a 14-year-old boy and two 13-year-old girls.

Each is charged with a single count of dealing in depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The charge is a class C felony, carrying a maximum penalty of 30 days in juvenile detention. Anyone convicted of the offense is required to register as a sex offender.

Toni said she and her daughter do not think that the three juveniles facing charges deserve to have to register as sex offenders or to have felony records follow them into adulthood.

“That isn’t going to solve anything,” she said. “But we both agree that there need to be consequences – stiff consequences.”

Toni said her daughter exhibited poor judgment in taking the nude photo of herself and sending it to her then-boyfriend, but she “didn’t do anything to deserve this.”

The boyfriend sent the photo to one of the girls charged in the case after he had broken up with the alleged victim. That girl sent it to the other girl who has been charged, and she sent it to other students, according to police.

Thurston County Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Rick Peters agreed Friday that the case is “a situation where the technology is ahead of the legislation.” He said he thinks the Legislature should come up with a law that better fits the wrongdoing committed by juveniles who maliciously spread nude photos of their peers.

Peters said he thinks a crime was committed. However, he said Thursday that he doesn’t think any consenting teen couple who send nude photos of themselves to each other should automatically be arrested, because it “doesn’t really fit the elements of the crime.” But when nude photos of someone are sent and resent multiple times, maliciously and without the photo subject’s consent, it rises to the level of the crime of “dealing” in depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct, he said.

Toni noted Friday how quickly the copies of the photos of her daughter spread from student to student.

According to information e-mailed to The Olympian from North Thurston Public Schools spokeswoman Courtney Schrieve: “The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy reported last month that a survey of 1,280 teens and young adults found that 20 percent of the teens said they had sent or posted nude or semi-nude photos or videos of themselves. That number was slightly higher for teenage girls – 22 percent – vs. boys – 18 percent.”

Schrieve said Friday that the school district is working to educate students and parents about sexting. Middle school teachers at Chinook and Komachin discussed the issue with students in their first-period classes Wednesday, she said. Chinook Principal Kirsten Rae sent a letter home to parents stating that sexting is a serious crime.

The school district also has placed automated notification calls to all of its middle school parents, explaining what sexting is and that it is a crime, Schrieve said.

Schrieve described the incident as a wake-up call. She added that the district might plan an educational forum or publish educational materials about sexting. ..Source.. by JEREMY PAWLOSKI, Staff writer