By Jason A. Smith
jsmith@henryherald.com

School and law enforcement officials in Henry County are cautioning students about the dangers of using technology to transmit sexually-explicit photographs, in the practice known as “sexting.”

Henry County Police Capt. Jason Bolton said his agency has “seen a handful of sexting cases” in recent years. One way to minimize the frequency of objectionable material being sent via a cell phone is for parents to be aware of their children’s activities, the veteran lawman said. “[Sexting cases] usually come to us when a parent discovers the content on their child’s phone and calls the police,” Bolton said.

“The best way to prevent this from happening is for parents to know what their child is doing with their phone,” he said. “In most cases, not only is the phone in the parent’s name, but they also pay the bill, so they should check, periodically, to see what’s on the phone that they’ve allowed their child to use.”

Bolton said sexting is punishable in Georgia through state code 16-12-100, a portion of which is also known as the Computer Pornography and Child Exploitation Prevention Act of 1999. “And yes, anyone possessing what would be considered ‘child pornography’ could face charges, whether it’s a teen or an adult,” he continued. “So, technically, a 15-year-old girl who takes explicit pictures of herself to send to her boyfriend, could be charged with the creation/distributing section of the crime. It’s all covered under the same code section.”

Henry County Sheriff Keith McBrayer said school resource officers at his agency meet with students and on-campus organizations to warn teens to be careful about taking pictures with their cell phones. “Our concern is that someone may think it’s a prank or a joke, and that it’s funny, but it’s not,” the sheriff said. “We just want to caution them on sending pictures of any type, that can be used differently from what it was intended.”

Sexting also is considered a violation of the Henry County School System’s “behavior code,” which can be found in its student secondary handbook, according to the school system’s spokeswoman, Connie Rutherford.

Rutherford said the school system does not currently maintain data on “sexting” offenses in particular. She said there are a number of violations within the handbook's behavior code that do not specifically address “sexting,” but still cover the misdeed.

The school system’s behavior code, as stated in its student secondary handbook, governs students’ conduct on school campus, during off-school-campus activities, or at a non-school-related function, off school campus, in which the misconduct leads to a disruption of school, or any other violation of the Student Code of Conduct.

Under the behavior code, students “using profane, vulgar, obscene, insulting, or threatening language, gestures, graphics, or materials, whether spoken, written, gestured, or communicated in person or via any electronic device” can be subject to (in-or out-of-school) suspension for up to five days, including suspension from school-related and extracurricular activities.

Sexual misconduct also is outlined in the student secondary handbook. It includes, but is “not limited to, harassment, possessing, accessing or viewing obscene or vulgar materials, indecent exposure, entry into areas designated for the opposite sex only, using an electronic or other device to take inappropriate, indecent, vulgar, sexual or obscene pictures of students or school employees ...”

Sexting surfaced as a serious issue at one metropolitan Atlanta school recently. Authorities are investigating the sexting case involving two eighth-graders. In the incident, one student has been suspended, and the other has withdrawn from classes.