Teen couples have been breaking up for generations. But social networking has warped the timeless high school heartbreak into a dangerous new X-rated form.
It’s called “revenge porn,” where jilted lovers make public sexual images that were meant to be private — sort of like celebrity sex tapes, except these involve boys and girls as young as 12.
Law enforcement officials in Union County say the problem is on the rise in Central Jersey.
Many consider New Jersey on the forefront of addressing school bullying since a 2011 law passed in response to the 2010 suicide of Rutgers student Tyler Clementi, whose roommate, Dharun Ravi, was convicted last year of using a webcam to spy on Clementi during a gay tryst.
But school and law enforcement officials here continue struggling to address the growing trend of teens using technology to spread naked images of themselves, sometimes consensually and sometimes not.
“Schools are doing a great job dealing with traditional bullying, but the challenge is cyberbullying” and other invasions of privacy made possible with widespread technology, said Union County Assistant Prosecutor Susan Gleason.
School administrators who already have to prepare for school shooting scenarios and be wise to the latest method of choice for teens looking to get high, now have to be on the lookout for compromising images — technically child pornography — making the rounds in and off their campuses.
“It is important because nobody wants to be in that position where they got some report and nobody took it seriously and you’re going to be interviewed after someone commits suicide. That’s my greatest fear,” said Gleason, who participated Thursday morning at Kean University in a Prosecutor’s Office forum for school leaders on this subject. State officials are considering having similar forums in other counties.
Among the tips prosecutors give school officials who stumble upon online-based sex offenses:
• Call the police immediately, even if there only is a suspicion of wrongdoing.
• Confiscate the phones or devices so that investigators can collect evidence after obtaining the family or judge’s permission. Teens are savvy enough to know how to delete messages and profiles.
• Don’t delete the images — they’re evidence.
Assistant Prosecutor Tiffany Wilson said that what used to be flirting is now “sexting,” or sharing of intimate images online or by phone. The old cafeteria-and-hallway rumor mill has become online harassment.
There even is “sextortion.” In one Union County case, a teen boy boy posed as a girl online to trick boys into sending him naked pictures of themselves. He then threatened to spread the images if they didn’t do what he asked of them.
“There is no safe haven,” Wilson said about victims. “Before the Internet, at the very least you could go home where it’s not there in your face. Now, with the advent of the Internet and texting and every child having access to cell phones, it’s 24/7.”
Wilson said these cases are difficult to handle because in most cases both the victim and the perpetrator are underage.
“We are feeling our way through it,” Gleason said. “Do we charge juveniles, or do we deal with it through education?”
In cases where images were shared only with one or two people and no threats or coercion were involved, authorities will try to avoid prosecution and have the perpetrator perform community service and undergo counseling.
More serious cases could be prosecuted as harassment, a low-level offense. Most serious cases, such as sextortion, could result in child endangerment criminal charges. ..Source.. by Sergio Bichao
No comments:
Post a Comment