As you know, sexting is the practice of sending nude or semi-nude pictures of yourself to someone else by cell phone – like texting. It is resulting in serious consequences for some kids. Consider the outcome of Phillip Alpert’s behavior in 2008.  [Photo from Myfoxorlando.com]

Phillip was an 18-year-old student in Florida when he broke up with his 16-year-old girlfriend. While they were dating, she sent him nude pictures of herself. After breaking up, Phillip became angry and in retaliation, sent the pictures to over 70 people including her parents, grandparents and teachers.

Phillip was charged with sending child pornography and was convicted. He was sentenced in 2008 to five years probation and required to register as a sex offender until he’s 43-years-old. In a 2009 interview, Phillip said that “A lot of my friends have not stood by me . . .people don’t want to talk to me anymore.” Phillip has to attend sex offender meetings and is having trouble finding work.

Or consider the tragic outcome of Jessica Logan’s text message.                           

Photo from MSNBC video

Jessica was a senior at Sycamore High School in Ohio. She sent a nude picture of herself to her boyfriend. After they broke up, he sent the photos to a few friends and they ended up being viewed by hundreds of students at several schools. The harassment Jesse endured was relentless. She was called a slut and a whore, teased and even had things thrown at her. She became depressed and started skipping school.

Jessica decided to confront the problem by going on local television to tell her story. “I just want to make sure no one else will have to go through this again.” Two months later, in July, 2008, Jessica hanged herself in her bedroom closet.

Her mother, Cynthia Logan, has taken up the cause of educating our nation’s youth about the dangers of sexting. In May, 2009, Jessica’s parents filed a lawsuit against the school district for failing to protect their daughter and against some of the kids involved.

To read a poem written by Jessica when she was 17 for a Writer’s Workshop at school, see “The Door That Lies Before You” at:  http://askthejudge.info/?s=the+door+that+lies

Child pornography is a crime. Whether you send, receive or even possess sexual photos of teenagers or children it is a felony in most states. And it isn’t limited to cell phone texting. Using any form of electronic communication [email, instant messaging, etc] involving sexual content and minors may have dire consequences. Your life will drastically change if you’re caught violating child pornography laws or new ’sexting’ laws being passed in some states.

In an article written for the National Law Journal in July, 2009, Prof. Vivian O. Berger of Columbia Law School commented about sexting:  “Momentary recklessness can result in mammoth embarrassment and grave damage to reputation: images virally spread on the Internet carry the potential to scuttle college admissions prospects and job opportunities years later.”

To read Prof. Berger’s article “Stop Prosecuting Teens for “Sexting,” see:  http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202432510633&slreturn=1&hbxlogin=1

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