About 20 percent of teens admit to doing it, but sexting has led to child pornography charges against teens in at least ten states. The latest incident involves students in Orange County.
A Los Alamitos student at McAuliffe Middle School took nude pictures of herself and sent them to at least one friend. A group of students using photo messaging circulated the photos.
Los Alamitos Unified School District Superintendent Gregory Franklin says fewer than ten students were involved. They received in-house suspensions, which means they show up for school but aren't allowed to go to class.
The /*National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy*/ called sexting " a troubling trend that parents have no idea about."
Teens dismiss it as little more than a high tech way of flirting. But, sending such material can have serious repercussions because school administrators are required by law to call police.
In Massachusetts, two 13-year-old boys were charged with child pornography after exchanging a partially naked picture of a female classmate. If convicted, the boys would have to register as sex offenders.
Prosecutors are conflicted about how to deal with these cases.
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