After 'sexting' incidents involving middle schoolers, Saline forum will look at cyber safety
Local law enforcement will join child advocates and members of the Saline Area Schools in a forum on cyber safety this Wednesday in the wake of multiple “sexting” incidents involving middle school students. The event, dubbed “Stop. Think. Connect: Do you know what your kids are doing on-line,” begins at 7 p.m. at the Saline Middle School Auditorium and is open to students, parents and the public.
- See a flier for the event by clicking here.
It is organized by the district in partnership with the Washtenaw Area Council for Children and will feature presentations by Saline Police Detective Don Lupi and Ritchie Coleman, public safety community coordinator with the Pittsfield Township Department of Public Safety.
Since January, Saline police have investigated three separate reports of Saline Middle School students that shared sexually explicit photos of themselves with others via cellphone or other handheld technology. Prosecutors charged four students ages 13 and 14 with disturbing the peace in two of the incidents reported in January. The charges are misdemeanors punishable by up to 90 days in juvenile detention and/or a $500 fine.
“After the incidents we’ve had, I think it’s important to do this because it’s a very serious issue that I don’t think kids understand the full impact of,” Saline Police Chief Paul Bunten said. “It’s up to the parents to teach them how serious this is, but we can certainly help.”
In one case resulting in charges, a 13-year-old boy sent a female student a picture of his genitals via cellphone, which was then shared with at least one other student. The other incident involved multiple pictures taken by a different female student of herself in her bra and underwear, and then nude, police reports said. One of the photos was reportedly taken in a school bathroom on a dare.
School officials learned of the photos from other students and confiscated the phones before contacting police. Other students were reportedly involved, but charges were not authorized, officials said.
School officials declined to comment on the cases, which are still pending.
Lupi said he believed the cases fit under Michigan’s child pornography statute, but understood why prosecutors opted for the lower charges in juvenile court because of the student’s naiveté.
“But each case is different and there may be different charges the next time this happens,” he said. “I don’t think kids realize the gravity of sending what they think is something harmless to a boyfriend or a girlfriend. This is very serious considering the power of technology today and serious charges could apply.”
Another incident involving a female middle school student who received an email containing a photo of a 15-year-old classmate’s genitalia on her Apple iPod occurred in February and was reported to police about a month later, reports show. No charges were filed in that case.
Saline police also investigated two separate reports of students at the school exchanging nude photos and other sexual content via cell phone during the final months of the previous school year. Those cases were forwarded to prosecutors, who denied charges.
Art Aisner is a freelance writer for AnnArbor.com. Reach the news desk at news@annarbor.com or 734-623-2530.
Comments
Patriot
Tue, May 3, 2011 : 3:21 a.m.
To Moon Crab and others who think this whole issue is not very serious. What we are witnessing is a society of young children who have been brought up in an environment seriously lacking in the teaching and of basic human dignity to the point that not even proper and respectful behavior is exhibited by their adult role models (parent, etc…). This all leads to the lowering of their personal self esteem, values, and self respect to where these children find this type of behavior acceptable and normal. They probably see others doing in (including so-called adults) and often use it to get some much needed attention. The fact that this occurs at all is disturbing. The fact that this continues to be a growing problem in the area points to some serious societal issues that are destroying lives and families. To whom is this behavior acceptable? Would you like or accept your son or daughter to be a participant? The next generation of people are faltering at their very beginning of life. A sad day indeed.
eldegee
Mon, May 2, 2011 : 10:16 p.m.
Once it's out there, it's out there FOREVER. You can't take it back. People tend to forget that little fact.
Momma G
Mon, May 2, 2011 : 8:20 p.m.
I have to agree with ChunkyPasta Sauce - this matter should be handled by the parents of the students involved, not the judcial system. These kids are experimenting like many older (probably these student's parents or grandparents) did but didn't have the technology to share. They only had the vocal "rumor-mill" going around school once they told their friends. It is sad what technology has done, in some respects, to our society.
tom swift jr.
Mon, May 2, 2011 : 7 p.m.
Cell phones and digital cameras are a huge problem in schools, and, in most cases, the problem is fueled by helicopter parents who INSIST that little Johnny and Jane carry the devices. Let me encourage you folks, as you consider these incidents and how they've been handled, to take the technology out of the picture...for a moment pretend we didn't have digital anything, and these kids were using old skool technology. Jane walks into school with a pocket full of pictures of herself, naked, and starts giving them to boys. Johnny does the same, and starts giving them to girls. These are passed around...... some get given to adults... Folks, child pornography is child pornography, the age of the source doesn't change the crime or the intent. By not taking a firm stand, by not utilizing the law to engage the behavior, the behavior is just encouraged and enabled. And, truth be told, there is no way the Juvenile Court in Washtenaw County is going to jail anyone for 90 days for this. In this day and age a young person has to pretty much commit a murder to be put in any placement longer than a week or two.
ChunkyPastaSauce
Mon, May 2, 2011 : 2:55 p.m.
Wouldn't the normal parent thing be to take the cellphone away or swap with a call only phone? imo charging 13 year olds with a crime like this is pretty extreme.
djm12652
Mon, May 2, 2011 : 2:08 p.m.
How is it that phones are allowed in the classroom, let alone being actively being used? How do parents not know what their kids are doing? And what in the world do kids this young need a freaking phone for during the day? I would assume the parents are aware of the children's location, or is that assumption just me thinking about when my kid was in school...I knew where she was without a cell phone.
the leprachaun
Mon, May 2, 2011 : 9:19 p.m.
They take your phone away if your texting in class and you could get inhouse
Edward R Murrow's Ghost
Mon, May 2, 2011 : 2:26 p.m.
Phones are allowed in classrooms because parents complain mightily if they are not. This is just one small data point that helps to understand the problems faced by teachers and how the often cannot even control what happens in their classroom, much less what their students do outside of the classroom. Good Night and Good Luck
Fatkitty
Mon, May 2, 2011 : 2:01 p.m.
Parents: WAKE UP and TEACH YOUR CHILDREN. The parents of the kids who are sending explicit photos via cell phones or whatever, should be held publicly accountable. THEN, with the wrath of Mom and Dad on their heads after being publicly embarrassed, the kids might think twice before doing this.
djm12652
Mon, May 2, 2011 : 2:10 p.m.
Fatkitty, I doubt parents would do anything, except to place blame on a child's behavior for their public embarassament....
moon crab
Mon, May 2, 2011 : 1:59 p.m.
This entire situation is ridiculous. Obviously, the real issue is not children's safety but the squeamishness of adults when confronted with the possibility that the children of today might be as sexually explorative as those adults were when they were young. The difference is the technology involved. The word "serious" is used four times in this article, but nobody explains *why* a kid "sending what they think is something harmless to a boyfriend or a girlfriend" is punishable by 90 days in juvie or a $500 fine! This is simply a continuation of the ludicrous policy of extending (necessary, sensible, laudable) child porno restrictions to those children themselves. Not only is it ridiculous for a kid to not be allowed to send a picture to a boyfriend or girlfriend of the same age who has probably seen the goods before (they ARE teens), but because of this backwards, hysterical approach, MORE adults have probably seen the images than they would if we were reasonable. (If I'm wrong on this point, someone please explain to me how the evidence of wrongdoing is exhibited and judged.) If there is suspected coercion involved, that would truly be a "serious" issue. I could perhaps understand if prosecutors went after the kid who dared this girl to take pictures of herself in the school bathroom. But it sounds like that's not how it played out, since that applies to only one of the photos of her. Given this, and the fact that all those involved are kids, how can anyone respect these people? They're being thrown in juvie and fined -- a real, concrete punishment -- to "protect" them from a vague, unlikely threat. Sounds like hysterical parents to me. I thought the idea was to protect kids, not punish them for exploring their sexuality -- which everybody does at that age, whether you want them to or not. Trying them under a child pornography statute ignores the fact that the children involved are the same age as one another. Everybody here ne
moon crab
Mon, May 2, 2011 : 2:48 p.m.
djm-etc.: The article doesn't mention any childish pranks, except possibly the dare. In that case, they'd be punishing the victim of the prank; the others are cases of consensual sharing.
djm12652
Mon, May 2, 2011 : 2:12 p.m.
Let's not punish childish pranks...right? Lord knows that this sort of activity would never evolve into something worse.
moon crab
Mon, May 2, 2011 : 2:06 p.m.
...needs to grow up. (Thanks, inaccurate characters-remaining counter!) I'm not sure if the reasons given for charging them, but it sounds like the same old song and dance: in one of the linked article, Det. Lupi says that "once these images are out, it's out and could be saved anywhere and everywhere." So the kids are being fined and confined because... one day, maybe, someone somewhere might HACK into their phone (a crime, I hope), STEAL their pictures, and look at them or post them elsewhere for adults to see. How is it not bleedingly obvious that this is a reversal of the idea that we should punish the criminal, not the (potential) victim? A perversion of a good law, this would be laughable if it didn't have ACTUAL "serious" consequences for the children involved. Shame on us!
Grace1
Mon, May 2, 2011 : 1:25 p.m.
I believe that all schools should have an educational forum about cyber safety. Kids should know the gravity of their actions or inactions concerning this issue. We should not wait to have events take place before taking action. Knowledge is power for both the parents/guardians and children!
DBH
Tue, May 3, 2011 : 1:24 a.m.
My point exactly, Grace1. ;-)
Grace1
Mon, May 2, 2011 : 10:37 p.m.
DBH, while it is reasonable and obviously helpful, not every school educates the children about the gravity of cyber safety.
DBH
Mon, May 2, 2011 : 8:55 p.m.
Grace1, your suggestion is too reasonable and obviously helpful to be taken seriously!
Kristin Judge
Mon, May 2, 2011 : 11:38 a.m.
Dear Basic Bob, Again, thank you for being a part of the conversation and for following my work so closely. I anxiously await the day you are willing to reveal yourself and give me a call so we can discuss all your thoughts in person. Thank you for giving the link to Stop.Think.Connect. (STC) The Washtenaw County Cyber Citizenship (WC4) is involved with this important event in that the Sheriff will be speaking about our coalition and all of the agencies involved are members of the coalition. As a coalition, we are a part of the national STC message and the programming that goes along with it. You are right again that cyber security is not just about pornography, but I applaud the Saline Area Schools for their leadership on this issue. Sexting is just one of the many issues the STC campaign and the many agencies concerned about our children are working on. Instead of hiding from the fact that kids in Saline are participating in these behaviors as are students in all districts, Saline leadership is willing to address it and get information to parents and students. Awareness and education are the main focus of the WC4 efforts. Last week, in cooperation with the same partners hosting this event along with EMU and the Department of Homeland Security, WC4 hosted 430 high school students at EMU to hear speakers talk about cyberbullying, your digital tatoo, future jobs in cybersecurity and other important topics. The event was sponsored by AT&T and Dell, so no taxpayer money was spent. As I left the event, I overheard a girl calling a friend say, "I need to take some pictures off my Facebook." Fortunately for you and the other residents of Washtenaw County, the WC4 is also working to protect small businesses, families and government systems, because it is not just about picture sharing. For more information about the goals of the WC4 group and other upcoming events in the community, visit <a href="http://www.washtenawcybercoalition.org" rel='nofollow'>www.washtenawcybercoalition.org</a>. You may even want to volunte
Basic Bob
Mon, May 2, 2011 : 10:37 a.m.
Just more ignorance from Saline about what cyber security means in the IT world. It has nothing to do with pornographic picture sharing. I don't know why the Washtenaw County Cyber Citizenship Coalition is not hosting this event, since this is one of Kristin Judge's hot issues. Curious about "Stop. Think. Connect." to see what it's about? <a href="http://www.stopthinkconnect.org/index.html" rel='nofollow'>http://www.stopthinkconnect.org/index.html</a> Curiously missing is any mention of "sexting" or pornography.