Word of the Week: "Sexting"

Sexting (v): To trade images with dirty messages, nude or sexually explicit photos, often in reference to teenagers.
 

OMG, isn’t technology great? Except this "sexting" can get the kiddies in some serious trouble. What seems like innocent teXXXting may lead to charges of possession of child pornography, distributing child pornography or even sexual abuse of a child.
 

While the term isn’t necessarily new, it’s taken on new prominence in the media lately. And we have the Bothell High School cheerleaders case to partially thank for that. As a reminder, these teens were suspended, one for 30 days and the other for a year, after they “accidentally” sent out nude photos of themselves to their peers via text messaging.
 

Now the families are suing the Northshore School District. Fox News reports:

The lawsuits, filed on Nov. 17, say the district violated the girls' due process rights, according to the paper. The families allege it was unnecessary for school officials to share the photos with other staff members, and claim they were negligent in failing to report the matter to police as a potential case of child pornography.

Matthew King, the attorney representing the families, told the Post-Intelligencer that it was unfair to punish the cheerleaders but not the other students who received or forwarded the photos.

"We're not technically challenging the sanctions as being too strict, we're saying they weren't evenly enforced across the school," said King. "There should have been some punishment meted out to those who were in possession of the photos. ... It seems like the girls are getting the brunt of it."

See, as much fun as it seems, sexting can hurt.