Sexting can have lasting consequences

Newton's Third Law of Physics says: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. We can apply this idea to smartphones, which are an incredible leap forward in telecommunications. One of their byproducts, however, is the nasty business of sexting.

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, sexting (a blend of the words "sex" and "texting") is the sending of sexually explicit messages or images by cellphone.

The latest incident was reported early this month at the Tamaqua Area High School where female students allegedly sent nude photos of themselves to others at the school.

Tamaqua Police Chief Rick Weaver, whose department launched an investigation, concluded that there was not probable cause to bring charges. Still, Weaver used the occasion to stress that anyone found taking these photos, sending them or possessing them will be prosecuted "to the full extent of the law."

Schuylkill County District Attorney Christine Holman echoed Weaver's warning. "Those involved in these activities may consider it as fooling around or horseplay," she said. "But this is a crime. You don't want to wind up with a criminal record."

Teenagers who become entangled in these sexting incidents do not realize that when they send these images that the law considers them to be engaging in child pornography, a felony.

The laws were written with sexual predators in mind, not for some naive teenager seeking cheap thrills and raised eyebrows.

According to a New York Times article published last November, when a 16-year-old girl emails a raunchy photo of herself to a boy, she has, in theory, created and distributed child pornography. If the boy sends the photo to 20 of his friends, he has distributed, and the friends all have possessed child pornography.

Here are some of the other recent incidents that have occurred in Pennsylvania:

• A video of a teenage girl and boy engaged in a sex act circulated among Allentown youths for at least a year before another girl was charged last year with possession and distribution of child pornography for posting it on Facebook.

• In Tunkhannock, students ranging in age from 11 to 17 were found to possess pictures of scantily clad, seminude and nude teenage girls. The high school principal met with about 20 students and their parents and offered them a deal in which the youths wouldn't be prosecuted if they took a class on sexual harassment, sexual violence and gender roles. Seventeen of the students accepted the offer, but three balked and sued the principal. The suit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, said the teens didn't consent to having the picture distributed and that the images were not pornographic. The ACLU won the case.

• According to Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan, a female victim was coerced by her then-boyfriend to share naked or partially naked photos with him. He promised only he would see them and that he would delete them immediately. After they broke up, she started dating another boy. The scorned ex-boyfriend, now angry and in revenge mode, allegedly shared the nude photos with others. From there the images were shared with more students, and bullying began - it became an online smear campaign, Hogan said.

• Three teenagers faced charges after police said they sent sexually explicit images of themselves to other people in south-central Pennsylvania. A 13-year-old Palmyra boy and a 13-year-old girl from the borough were each charged with one count of transmission of sexually explicit images by a minor. A 13-year-old North Londonderry Township girl sent a photo of a naked 13-year-old boy to another minor, and she sent a sexually explicit picture of herself.

Law enforcement officials are anguished over how to handle these incidents. Although the law is quite explicit, investigators are trying to make judgment calls on intent and the severity of each case.

About 20 states have adopted new laws intended to address juvenile sexting by providing a less severe range of legal responses to personal photo-sharing. The move is to reclassify these crimes as misdemeanors rather than felonies, meaning they could be expunged from a child's record after the defendant performs community service and undergoes counseling.

Bill Fitzpatrick, president of the National District Attorneys Association who serves as DA of Onondaga County, New York, in which the city of Syracuse is located, gave this example to The New York Times:

"A 15-year-old boy shares a risqué photo of his girlfriend with his buddies. Under the strictest definition of the law, you have a felony, but we would never prosecute a case like that."

Fitzpatrick has urged prosecutors nationwide to resist being too heavy-handed in pursuing teenage sexting charges. He recommends avoiding criminal charges and finding ways to impose less severe and lasting punishments.

Fitzpatrick's office also is working to prevent sexting by educating students and parents about the personal and legal risks. His program has been copied across the country.

When these presentation are made in schools, he said, it is clear that it is hitting home.

"About a third of the way through," Fitzpatrick said "you see this wave of students frantically hitting the delete buttons on their phones."

We believe every school district in our area should include a program either during pre-classes orientation or during the school year on the perils of sexting and how it can screw up a young person's future forever for a fleeting moment of recklessness.

Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com