The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy conducted a survey last year that showed about 20 percent … one in five … of the 1,280 teens interviewed had posted online or had electronically sent nude or semi-nude images of themselves. Another 39 percent said they had sent or posted sexually suggestive messages.

Close to home, three East Pennsboro Area School District students last winter were charged with disorderly conduct after police said they took nude photos of themselves and sent them to others. The charges were later dropped. Susquenita High School in Perry County ran into the sexting controversy last month when state police charged seven teens with child pornography. They allegedly recorded sex acts on their cell phones and sent them to other teens. And authorities in Franklin County are investigating reports of sexting involving as many as 40 students at Chambersburg Area Senior High School. Other Pennsylvania school districts have dealt with the troubling phenomenon. One Wyoming County case prompted a federal judge to issue a restraining order barring a local prosecutor from pursuing felony charges against sexting juveniles. Four local teenagers will discuss sexting and its ramifications on Friday night's show.

Kids found guilty of child pornography could be labeled sexual offenders and have to register with authorities for the rest of their lives. In some jurisdictions, prosecutors charge sexting teens with disorderly conduct … a much lighter offense with no long-term repercussions. Witold Walczack, legal director of the Pennsylvania ACLU, argued in the Wyoming County case, “This country needs to have a discussion about whether prosecuting minors as child pornographers for merely being impulsive and naïve is the appropriate way to address the serious consequences that can result from sexting.”

State Senator Stewart Greenleaf, chairman of the state Senate Judiciary Committee, wants to remove some of the ambiguity and arbitrariness of prosecution for these activities. Greenleaf has introduced a bill that would create the criminal offense of "dissemination of prohibited materials by a minor." Children under 18 would be prohibited from using a computer or telecommunication device “to knowingly transmit or distribute a photograph or other depiction of himself or herself or of another minor who is at least 13 years of age, in a state of nudity, to another person who is not more than four years younger or more than four years older than the person transmitting the photograph.” Sexting would be graded as a summary offense. Offenders would be eligible for an alternative program that includes an educational component.

"We need to find ways to deter young people from engaging in this behavior," Greenleaf wrote in a press release announcing the legislation. "I also believe that we need to begin having thorough discussions about the legal and non-legal consequences of using a computer or a telecommunication device to share sexually suggestive materials." Cumberland County District Attorney Dave Freed will join us Friday night to talk about criminal penalties for sexting.

Your child doesn’t have to be particularly “tech savvy” to figure out how to sext. Many cell phones have built-in cameras making it easy for teenagers to point, click or record photos or video messages of sex acts or provocative poses. They then send the images to other kids, not necessarily thinking about who might ultimately gain access to them. Perry County District Attorney Charles Chenot lamented that he didn’t have a lot of legal choices when confronted with the sexting incident. “The most applicable crime available was the pornography charge. There are no other lesser offenses that fit the circumstances of these cases. While a misdemeanor charge may have been a better grading for the offenses, I do not have a misdemeanor option available under current Pennsylvania law,” Chenot wrote in an email.

The seven Perry County juveniles were charged with "Sexual Abuse of Children," a third-degree felony under the Pennsylvania Crimes Code, and some also were charged with possessing obscene materials, and disorderly conduct. Chenot says all of the students are scheduled for Juvenile Court. “I plan to offer each of them the opportunity to participate in a diversionary program called a Consent Decree. Under the terms of that program, they would serve a period of probation, participate in community service, and undergo some form of education regarding the long-term effects of child pornography and sexting,” Chenot wrote. If the teens complete the terms of the decree, the charges against them would be expunged.

State Attorney General Tom Corbett, who’s seeking the GOP nomination for governor next year, has added sexting to the Internet safety program he offers to middle and high school students. Local school districts including East Pennsboro, Susquenita, Boiling Springs, and Carlisle have held assemblies on the topic. Much of the discussion focuses on the consequences for students who “sext” like criminal penalties, difficulty securing a job or gaining acceptance to college, and the danger that these children could become prey for a sexual predator. The Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association also offers a “Let’s Talk About Sexting” program to school districts. The PDAA wants the legislature to address sexting and make it a misdemeanor.

Of course, if teens weren’t sexting there wouldn’t be a problem. But Dr.Cheryl A. Dellasega, a professor of humanities and women’s studies at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center’s College of Medicine, says sexting shows a breakdown in the idea of “sexual etiquette.” She will appear on Smart Talk Friday night. It’s part of this whole spectrum of boys commenting on girls’ bodies openly, girls wearing clothes that are very sexually suggestive. We really have lost ground on our sexual etiquette in terms of how we treat the opposite sex,” she told Daniel Victor of The Harrisburg Patriot-News.

One high school senior said that sending nude self-portraits, “is like a high … it’s not actual sex, so there’s less risk for STDs and pregnancies. It’s more of a visual stimulation.” Maybe, but it's a high with a potentially very serious legal crash. Join us Friday night at 8:30 and feel free to share your thoughts at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

'Sexting' Is On The Rise

Senate panel looks to establish common sense punishment for sexting