On Monday, January 9th, Brownwood High School sent groups of students one at a time to the auditorium for a presentation warning them of the dangers and possible legal consequences of using cell phones for sexting, the act of sending sexually explicit messages or photos to a girlfriend, boyfriend, or any other recipients via cell phone.
It is estimated that 30 percent of high school students have engaged in some sort of inappropriate messaging or texting on their phones making this a growing problem for today’s students, as well as educators who aren’t immune to receiving an unsolicited text message containing illegal content.
Due to the sensitive nature of the presentation, each group attending consisted of all males or females from each class. Students were shown a video containing an interview with a former student from an unspecified high school who is now a registered sex offender and spent time in jail, among other disciplinary actions, as a result of sharing provocative images of his ex-girlfriend who was considered a minor at the time.
Following the video, Judge Ray West delivered some eye-opening words about the law and gave some mock scenarios of situations he might see in his courtroom and the types of punishments that could be handed down. The consequences of sexting in Texas can result in a number of state felony charges including obscenity, and possible detainment in a state prison or a state juvenile correction agency such as TYC (Texas Youth Commission). It is against the law in the United States to have in your possession lewd photos of minors, putting teenagers and any adults at risk that might have data considered illegal stored on their device.
Judge West also warned students that they could still be caught even if they delete the messages.
“Don’t be deluded that if you send a text like that and delete it, that it is permanently deleted,” cautioned Judge West. “There are people in the sheriff’s office and the police department that are technologically light-years ahead of you and me. That text is there, and it [sim card] can be taken out and searched and it can be found.”
Students were also informed that once a message is sent, the data is stored on a variety of machines while being delivered to the recipient. Deleting it from your phone will not get rid of every copy, and the images are not always secure or out of reach of tech-savvy individuals with prying eyes. The overall message to students is to stay away from sexting because once the data is out there you no longer have control of where it goes and it can cost you your future and possibly the future of those who end up with it.
“The technology can surely be abused,” said Judge West with a final note to the students at BHS. “Stay away from inappropriate comments on your cell phone.”
