Principals And law enforcement warn of dangers of "Sexting"
Contact: Peter Deegan
“’Sexting’ is dangerous and can lead to heartache and even prison.” That was the message conveyed by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa and local high school principals at a press conference this morning. The press conference – hosted by Dr. Ralph Plagman, Principal of Cedar Rapids Washington High School – followed the federal sentencing of a Plymouth, Iowa, man for “sextortion” involving sexually explicit pictures of his former girlfriend when she was a minor. The man, now 25, recently attempted to extort sex from his former girlfriend using sexually explicit pictures taken when she was in high school. [see related press release dated December 13, 2010].
“Sexting” is the act of sending sexually explicit photographs between mobile phones or computers,” United States Attorney Stephanie M. Rose said. “Unfortunately, it happens all too often among middle and high schoolers. These young people take or share sexually explicit photographs with a person they are dating, believing the recipient will not share the images with anyone else. Sadly, a teenager’s fleeting poor judgment can lead to significant and lasting harm.”
“Once an image is sent, the teenager has no control over whether it is distributed further. The image can then be posted on the Internet or forwarded electronically to other people. Once posted on the Internet, the image can be accessed at any time in the future,” said Rose.
Principal Plagman from Washington High School said, “with teens having more access to cell phones and the Internet, they need to understand that taking sexually explicit pictures is never worth the risk.”
Principal Tom Keating from Xavier High School added, “parents and students alike need to be aware of appropriate limits that come with cell phone and Internet usage. These technologies provide powerful tools – but they are tools that many teens may not be capable of handling on their own.”
Floyd County Sheriff Rick Lynch added, “once an inappropriate picture is on the Internet, there’s a risk it could be seen by anyone for years to come. This could include friends, relatives, colleges, and even future employers. It’s much worse than something like an embarrassing tattoo – a picture on the Internet can never be removed.”
“We want parents and students to be aware of the risks of ‘sexting’ so that crimes like those involved in last weeks’ sentencing can be avoided,” said Rose. “While a sexual predator was ordered to prison for 6 ½, we would much rather stop the crime from occurring. Students, as well as their teachers and parents, need to understand there is only one sure way to prevent ‘sexting’ from haunting students in the future – don’t take the pictures in the first place.”
For anyone who may have taken or be in possession of sexually explicit photographs of a minor student, the consequences can be devastating.
According to Rose, “taking, receiving, distributing – or even simply possessing sexually explicit images of someone under the age of 18 is a federal felony. This is as true for computer and cell phone pictures as it is for more traditional photographs. For persons over the age of 18, that means you can be sent to federal prison – often for several years – even for keeping a computer or cell phone picture you took when you were under the age of 18.”
Besides the United States Attorney and prosecutors from her office, several others participated in the press conference. These included principals from Cedar Rapids Washington High School (Dr. Ralph Plagman), Cedar Rapids Kennedy High School (Dr. Mary Wilcyuski), Xavier High School (Mr. Tom Keating), Linn-Mar High School (Dr. Jeff Gustason), and Marion High School (Dr. Greg Thomas). Also present were ICAC Investigator Ward Crawley and representatives from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Floyd County, Iowa, Sheriff’s Office.
