Teh One Who Knocks
01-29-2016, 12:03 PM
By Nelson Oliveira - Connecticut Post
http://i.imgur.com/XtaSsCj.jpg
NEWTOWN, Conn. — Three Newtown High School students have been charged with selling sexually explicit pictures and videos of their classmates.
Twenty other students were referred to a juvenile review board for reportedly sharing those images with friends.
The investigation began last May when school administrators learned that several boys and girls were “sexting” — sharing nude photos and videos of themselves and their classmates — through smartphone applications like Snapchat, FaceTime, iMessage and Kik.
Three of the boys involved in the sexting ring are accused of charging $10 to $20 to share such content with their classmates. The three were arrested Tuesday on felony charges of possessing child pornography and promoting a minor in an obscene performance, and misdemeanor charges of obscenity and possessing or transmitting child pornography by a minor.
They were not identified because of their age.
Sexting is an increasingly common practice among teenagers that police and school authorities warn could have potentially serious, even dangerous, consequences.
“We feel like students are not fully aware of the criminal nature of this,” Newtown High School Principal Lorrie Rodrigue said. “It’s a little frightening how naive they can be.”
Although research on sexting is limited, the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy found in the first survey of its kind in 2008 that 21 percent of teen girls and 18 percent of teen boys have sent or posted nude or semi-nude images of themselves.
The percentage could be higher, given that Snapchat and several other messaging applications did not exist then.
Additionally, a recent study conducted by Drexel University showed that 88 percent of adults reported engaging in sexting.
“Technology is still so ever-changing in such a rapid way that we have to make sure that we teach students and make sure they have a thorough understanding of the implications that come with their actions,” Rodrigue said.
Newtown police, along with School Resource Officer Liam Seabrook and the board of education, began the probe by interviewing dozens of students, parents and witnesses, said Sgt. Aaron Bahamonde, a department spokesman.
Police also seized cellphones and conducted several search and seizure warrants.
Authorities said they learned that photos and videos were shared with high school students who were not the intended recipients.
Bahamonde said dozens of images and videos were sold, but the teens did not make a significant amount of money because they were quickly stopped. The sergeant credited school officials for acting promptly.
“As soon as the school administrators found out about it, they immediately initiated an investigation and notified the police,” Bahamonde said.
Police said the review board, to which 20 girls and boys were referred, is a community-based panel designed for community leaders to take a “tempered response” to what would be considered criminal actions committed by a juvenile.
“This tempered response imposes a consequence on the juvenile-aged offender, yet keeps the juvenile out of the State of Connecticut criminal justice system,” police said.
After meeting with the referred youths, the review board imposes a disciplinary action, which police said is typically some sort of community service. If successfully completed, the case is closed and the juvenile maintains no criminal record.
Rodrigue said the sexting ring likely began in 2014, but administrators only learned about it when a student contacted them.
“Although it started outside the school, because of the nature of this issue we obviously investigated it,” Rodrigue said.
Her school has already begun addressing the problem. Last year, the school’s wellness workshops for incoming freshmen and their parents, which typically focus on alcohol and drug use, also included discussions on social media and sexting.
Rodrigue said the school will “not shy away from” talking about sexting.
“It’s got to be here and it’s got to be learned now,” she said. “If it’s learned later, it’s way too late.”
http://i.imgur.com/XtaSsCj.jpg
NEWTOWN, Conn. — Three Newtown High School students have been charged with selling sexually explicit pictures and videos of their classmates.
Twenty other students were referred to a juvenile review board for reportedly sharing those images with friends.
The investigation began last May when school administrators learned that several boys and girls were “sexting” — sharing nude photos and videos of themselves and their classmates — through smartphone applications like Snapchat, FaceTime, iMessage and Kik.
Three of the boys involved in the sexting ring are accused of charging $10 to $20 to share such content with their classmates. The three were arrested Tuesday on felony charges of possessing child pornography and promoting a minor in an obscene performance, and misdemeanor charges of obscenity and possessing or transmitting child pornography by a minor.
They were not identified because of their age.
Sexting is an increasingly common practice among teenagers that police and school authorities warn could have potentially serious, even dangerous, consequences.
“We feel like students are not fully aware of the criminal nature of this,” Newtown High School Principal Lorrie Rodrigue said. “It’s a little frightening how naive they can be.”
Although research on sexting is limited, the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy found in the first survey of its kind in 2008 that 21 percent of teen girls and 18 percent of teen boys have sent or posted nude or semi-nude images of themselves.
The percentage could be higher, given that Snapchat and several other messaging applications did not exist then.
Additionally, a recent study conducted by Drexel University showed that 88 percent of adults reported engaging in sexting.
“Technology is still so ever-changing in such a rapid way that we have to make sure that we teach students and make sure they have a thorough understanding of the implications that come with their actions,” Rodrigue said.
Newtown police, along with School Resource Officer Liam Seabrook and the board of education, began the probe by interviewing dozens of students, parents and witnesses, said Sgt. Aaron Bahamonde, a department spokesman.
Police also seized cellphones and conducted several search and seizure warrants.
Authorities said they learned that photos and videos were shared with high school students who were not the intended recipients.
Bahamonde said dozens of images and videos were sold, but the teens did not make a significant amount of money because they were quickly stopped. The sergeant credited school officials for acting promptly.
“As soon as the school administrators found out about it, they immediately initiated an investigation and notified the police,” Bahamonde said.
Police said the review board, to which 20 girls and boys were referred, is a community-based panel designed for community leaders to take a “tempered response” to what would be considered criminal actions committed by a juvenile.
“This tempered response imposes a consequence on the juvenile-aged offender, yet keeps the juvenile out of the State of Connecticut criminal justice system,” police said.
After meeting with the referred youths, the review board imposes a disciplinary action, which police said is typically some sort of community service. If successfully completed, the case is closed and the juvenile maintains no criminal record.
Rodrigue said the sexting ring likely began in 2014, but administrators only learned about it when a student contacted them.
“Although it started outside the school, because of the nature of this issue we obviously investigated it,” Rodrigue said.
Her school has already begun addressing the problem. Last year, the school’s wellness workshops for incoming freshmen and their parents, which typically focus on alcohol and drug use, also included discussions on social media and sexting.
Rodrigue said the school will “not shy away from” talking about sexting.
“It’s got to be here and it’s got to be learned now,” she said. “If it’s learned later, it’s way too late.”