High Teens Crash into Police Car

Cameron Marchiori, 17, and Nicholas Evanoff, 18, are in a lot of trouble. The two teens from Fraser, Mi. face felony charges of theft, alcohol possession, resisting arrest and destruction of police property after crashing into a police cruiser with a lawnmower.

See video clip below:

According to the Fraser police, an officer was investigating a number of 911 calls from concerned citizens about two teens on a lawnmower. He ran into them, or rather they ran into him, near the intersection of 15 Mile and Utica roads.

Cameron Marchiori, 17, who was high after inhaling from aerosol cans he and his friend, Nicholas Evanoff, 18, had bought at the local Meijer, was driving a stolen lawnmower. He was so intent on controlling the lawnmower that he did not notice the police car until it was too late to stop. The collision between the lawnmower and police cruiser was caught on the police car dashcam video.

Nicholas Evanoff attempted to run after the accident occured but was quickly caught. Both teens were charged with receiving and concealing stolen property and possession of alcohol. Marchiori also was charged with malicious destruction of property. Evanoff was charged with resisting and obstructing police. Both were arraigned in 39B District Court in Fraser. Marchiori was ordered held on 10% of a $10,000 bond. Evanoff was ordered held on 10% of a $5,000 bond, said Lt. Dan Kolke of the Fraser Police Department.

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Man Hires Prostitute for His Son

A 42-year-old man, a native of Poland, living in Britain, decided it was time for his 14-year-old virgin son to have sex. So he took him out to look for a prostitute. He was arrested during an undercover operation by the city’s vice squad. His case was heard before Nottingham Crown Court Judge Jonathan Teare.

In court the man admitted trying to solicit a woman to have sex with a child.

According to Prosecutor Adrian Harris, the man drove his son around the red light district of Nottingham looking for a suitable candidate. They eventually found someone:

“The boy said that they had driven past the girl and his dad pointed to her and said ‘will she do?”‘ Harris said. “He said ‘yes’ and they had turned round.

Little did they know at the time that they had picked out an undercover police officer named “Sarah“. The man pulled up to “Sarah” and asked her how much it would cost for her to have sex with his son. They settled on a price of $30. That was when plainclothes police officers moved in and arrested him.

In court Judge Jonathan Teare was told the unidentified man who lives in Bulwell, Nottingham, had come to Britain 8 years ago with his son after his wife had died. He re-married but his second wife suffers from schizophrenia. The son told the court that his Dad was trying to “take care of  him” because he was still a virgin.

Judge Jonathan Teare said he would spare the father jail because of his excellent character and that he believed he did not mean any harm to his son.

“What you were doing that night was to expose your 14-year-old son to a prostitute because you didn’t know she was a police officer.

“You have a duty of care to your son and that is to look after his moral welfare not, as you might think, to break him into the ways of sex through a prostitute.”

The man’s lawyer, Matthew Smith, said:

“There is a thorough sense of shame the defendant feels. “It’s completely at odds with every other part of his character.”

The judge gave the man a 10-month prison sentence, suspended for a year and placed him on the  sex offenders register for five years.

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No Criminal Charges in Brett Elder Death

Bay County Prosecutor Kurt C. Asbury declined to charge any of the three police officers involved in the TASER-related death of 15-year-old Brett Elder on March 22, 2009.

It was Cpl. James Lyman who fired the Taser that struck Brett Elder, contributing to what the Oakland County Assistant Medical Examiner, Kanu Virani, called the accidental death of the teenager. The other contributing factor was alcohol-induced excited delirium syndrome. The teen had a blood alcohol level of .17.

Asbury, in a written statement said he won’t file criminal charges against any officers “as the evidence does not prove that the officers committed any criminal act that caused or contributed to the death of Brett Elder.“

Prosecutor Asbury said, “The unfortunate reality of the situation was that the underaged Brett Elder was very intoxicated drinkng the early morning hours of March 22, 2009, and wihtout any meaningful adult supervision or guidance, placed himself in a situation which resulted in his death.

He was highly agitated and combative, tried to start fights with numerous people, as well as the police officers called to the resience to deal with his ‘uncontrollable behavior,’ all which contributed to his untimely death.”

Several witnesses from inside the apartment said a police officer used a Taser on Brett Elder after police handcuffed him. Police deny that and Asbury’s summary indicates that wasn’t the case.

Asbury says police followed proper procedures and were justified in the Taser shooting of Elder.

A female had been attacked. “She reported that Mr. Elder put her in a head lock and started punching her in the face,” Asbury said.

There were eight people in the home, and others tried to subdue Elder. “So there were multiple altercations with this young man inside the house,” Asbury said. The three police officers arrived at the home about 3:45 am and for eight minutes they also tried to subdue Elder.

“They decided they needed to take him into custody,” Asbury said. “He broke away from the officer’s grasp and that’s when he put up his fists and put up a fighting stance.”

Brandon LaBerge, a friend of Elder’s says he was “pretty angry” about the fact that no criminal charges would be filed. He says he was like a brother to Elder in what he calls a makeshift family of friends and relatives who are still demanding justice.

“Someone needs to pay for it,” he said. “Our family is still sitting here scratching our heads, saying, ‘What’s going on?'”

In fact the Elder family had already hired a law firm which is expected to file a civil lawsuit in this case, now that the criminal aspect of the investigation is over. The team of attorneys – including Southfield lawyer Geoffrey Fieger and Flint attorney David Nickola – will be representing the estate of Brett Elder.

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Brett Elder’s Death Ruled Accidental

Brett Elder was a 15-year-old boy who was tasered by the Bay City police and died. The  unarmed 5’6″, 140 lb teen died 3/22/09 – two days before his 16th birthday. His “death by taser” was widely criticized as unnecessary police action. His family has hired an attorney and plan to sue the police department. See more details here and here.

The autopsy was performed by the Oakland County Assistant Medical Examiner Dr. Kanu Virani. The results of the autopsy have finally been released. The report indicated that the cause of Brett Elder’s death was two-fold:

1. The first part is identified as Alcohol-induced Excited Delirium Syndrome
2. The second part states The application of an electromuscular disruptive device was a contributory factor.

Alcohol-induced Excited Delirium Syndrome has been ruled the cause of death in other cases involving a Taser. The “electromuscular disruptive device” is of course the Taser. Dr. Kanu Virani’s report concludes that the death of Brett Elder was accidental.

The Bay County Prosecutor’s office has not yet decided if criminal charges will be brought against any of the three police officers involved in the incident.

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Brett Elder – Funeral and Controversy

Brett “Dewey” Elder (born 3/24/93) died two days before his 16th birthday (3/22/09). The unarmed (5’6″, 140 lb) teen died after being Tasered by one of three officers of the Bay City police department. He was buried Thursday 3/26/09. His family has hired a lawyer, Flint attorney David Nickola, with the intention of suing the police department. Michigan State police have opened their own investigation into this case. Read more about this case here: 15-Year-Old Brett Elder Tasered to Death

This is one of those times where it is difficult not to form an opinion before all the facts are presented and although I will continue to report on all sides of this story, I would like to make the following statement:

I have read a number of reports regarding this young man’s death and, in all honesty, the only conclusion I can come to, is that unnecessary force was used by the police against Brett Elder, resulting in his death.

The best scenario I can come up with; is that three adult police officers felt so threatened by this 15-year-old, drunk kid that they had no other option but to use extreme measures to subdue him. I do not believe this.

Any other scenario leads to the conclusion that this was a case of police brutality and possible criminal behavior. I hope justice is served!! Brett Elder did not deserve this.

The Funeral service for Brett Elder was held at 4 p.m. at Ambrose Funeral Home, 1200 Garfield Ave. but before the service was conducted a second autopsy was perform on the teen’s body by forensic pathologist Werner Spitz at the request of the law firm representing the Elder family. The law firm claims that the autopsy results “are expected to show (Brett Elder) died from being electrocuted by Taser causing his heart to defibrillate.”

The first autopsy was done by Dr. Kanu Virani but he declined to offer an opinion on the cause of death until he learns results of toxicology tests checking levels of alcohol and other drugs in the boy’s body. Virani said he also will await results of a microscopic examination of the boy’s tissues before determining a cause of death. That could take a few weeks.

Police in Bay City held a four-minute news conference to address the death of 15-year-old Brett Elder. During the conference, Bay City Police Chief Michael J. Cecchini addressed the media by reading a prepared written statement. Cecchini said officers acted properly and denied an allegation that officers used the Taser gun after the teen was in handcuffs.

“A Taser electronic control device was deployed for one five-second cycle to subdue Brett,” Cecchini said.“He was subsequently handcuffed without incident. Upon taking Brett into custody, officers recognized signs of a possible medical problem and immediately rendered aid and summoned medical personal to the scene.”

One of Brett Elder’s friends, 23-year-old Bethany Schuster of Flint, joined with several others to paint “The Rock” on 12th Street and Hammerberg Road in Flint this week to protest Brett’s death. She had planned to celebrate her 24th birthday this weekend with her friend Brett. Instead, the Flint woman will spend it mourning his death.

Bethany Schuster and her boyfriend, Brandon Look, are still coming to grips with the boy’s death. Schuster said she met Brett in Bay City about five years ago, and it had become a tradition to celebrate their birthdays together. “It’s unbelievable,” she said, adding that he was a good kid who was easygoing and lovable. “He was not a kid without ambition,” said Look, adding that Brett had a hard life growing up. “Now he’s robbed of being an adult.” They painted The Rock on Tuesday with birthday wishes but also had a sharp message for the police. “Tasered to death by Bay City PD,” The Rock read.

For photos of the funeral and The Rock dedicated to Brett Elder click here: Tribute to Brett “Dewey” Elder

15-Year-Old Brett Elder Tasered to Death

Brett “Dewey” Elder, 15, of  Bay City, Michigan was 5′ 6″ and weighed about 140 pounds. Brett Elder is dead. He was the recipient of one Taser bolt to the chest, fired by one of three police officers in an attempt to subdue the youth.

Brett had been drinking and was fighting with others at 210 S. Catherine St. when the police were called at 3:40 am. They arrived at 3:44 am. Police say they were trying to break up a fight when Elder tried to go after other people in the house, as well as the police. That’s when an officer deployed his TASER at 3:53 a.m. Brett was then handcuffed and because of his reaction to being Tasered, an ambulance was called.

Two males were arguing in an apartment, and one of them “attempted to fight the officers,” the statement said. “The male subject was then Tasered and taken into custody,” it said. “Medical personnel were summoned immediately due to the subject’s reactions.”

Eyewitnesses have a different story to tell. They say that Brett was handcuffed before being Tasered. They also say that not only was an ambulance not called quickly enough but they refused to allow CPR to be performed on the youth. They also question why three officers could not control him without the use of the Taser.

“He was flopping around and looked like a fish out of water. That’s the only way to explain it — his whole body was bent over,” Elder’s aunt, Cindy Hernden, said.

State police said they have started an investigation into the death. City police have placed the officer involved on administrative leave.

“This is a very tragic event,” said police Chief Michael Cecchini. He said his department would conduct an internal investigation into whether the officer followed policy when using the Taser.

Eugene E. Elder Sr. figures police killed his teenage son unjustifiably with a Taser, and he plans to fire back with a lawsuit. “I’m going after the city. I don’t care,” said Elder, 55, of Bay City. “There’s no reason for killing my boy. He didn’t do nothing wrong.”

“I believe they killed him,” said Hernden. “I believe his heart couldn’t handle it,” Hernden added. “I just figured that Taser was too strong for that small of a kid. He’s tiny, and there were three grown police officers. “They could have subdued him without handcuffs, but they handcuffed him and then Tasered him.”

Bay City Deputy Police Chief Thomas P. Pletzke denied Hernden’s allegation, saying Brett Elder wasn’t in handcuffs when an officer deployed the Taser. Pletzke declined comment when asked if Bay City officers should share any blame for Elder’s death. Pletzke didn’t identify the officer who used the Taser, but said the department has placed him on administrative leave.

Relatives of Brett Elder said police arrested the late youth’s half-brother, Eugene, at Bay Regional Medical Center following a scuffle with security personnel at the hospital after rescuers had taken Brett Elder there.

Brett Elder attended Wenona High School, an alternative high school at 201 Woodside Lane operated by the Bay City Public Schools. Elder attended Bay City Central High School earlier this school year.

”He was a pleasant enough young man,” said Jerry Lombardo, principal at Wenona High School, though Lombardo noted Elder had attended the alternative school for only about three weeks.

Eugene Elder Sr. said his late son loved to ride bicycles with him, and would have turned 16 on Tuesday. He said his son had undergone treatment for alcohol abuse, but had been avoiding alcohol in recent weeks.

Brett’s mother, Jodi Elder, had died in September. An aunt, Dorothy A. Hendrix of Bay City, said he was “devastated” by the death of his mother.

“He didn’t even weigh 150 pounds,” Hendrix said. “They Tasered a little kid.”

Another Bad Cop?

A King County sheriff’s deputy Paul Schene, 31, has been charged with fourth-degree assault in connection with a Nov. 29 incident in a holding cell at SeaTac City Hall. He had been accused of shoving and kicking a 15-year-old girl in a holding cell after her arrest. Schene pleaded not guilty to the charge and was released on his own recognizance. The misdemeanor charge carries a maximum penalty of one year in jail.

If the above incident was not captured on video, this may have turned out to be another “He said, she said” back and forth argument involving a suspect and the police. However, the video which was released under court order, shows just how brutally this 15-year-old girl was manhandled by an eight-year veteran of the King County Sherriff’s Department.

The entire incident began earlier when deputy Paul Schene and his partner stopped the car in which two 15-year-old girls were traveling. The car had been reported stolen. The two girls were arrested and taken to the holding facility at SeaTac City Hall for fingerprinting and other processing.

One of the teens was taken by Schene and his partner to a holding cell where she was told to remove her shoes. Complying with the order, the girl kicked off her left shoe which struck deputy Paul Schene. That was when the trouble began. What happened next was caught on video.

The deputy is seen rushing into the cell, kneeing the teen in her thigh and pushing her head-first into the opposite wall. He then grabs her by her hair and throws her to the ground and punches her twice before handcuffing her. As if that was not enough, he then grabs her by her hair again and pulls her up from the floor.

See the unedited video below:

Both girls were booked into the Youth Center on auto theft charges. One of the girls (presumably, the one in the video) was also booked for assault for allegedly assaulting the deputy.

On Dec. 1, the detective assigned to the auto theft and assault case checked the security video as part of her follow-up investigation. She saw the holding cell video and immediately notified her supervisor. This prompted an investigation and Paul Schene, an 8-year veteran of the force, was placed on paid administrative leave the following day.

Sgt. John Urquhart said the surveillance video shows Schene “using more force that was necessary as far as the prosecutor’s office is concerned. And as far as we’re concerned, that rises up to the level of an assault.”

During court proceedings, Paul Schene’s attorney, Anne Bremmer, pleaded with Superior Court Judge Catherine Shaffer not to release the video to the public, fearing adverse public opinion would make it difficult for her client to receive a fair trial. Opposing the motion on behalf of the King County Sheriff’s Office, Senior Deputy Prosecutor John Cobb argued that the state public records act requires the video be released. Judge Catherine Shaffer ruled that the video should be released.

“We had argued strenuously that the video tape released to the media this morning not be released because it does not tell the whole story of the incident. As we argued to the judge, it will inflame public opinion and will severely impact the deputy’s right to a fair trial. We will defend this misdemeanor case in court. No story can be sliced so thin that it does not have two sides. We hope that judgment will be reserved until all the facts of this case are given fair consideration in court.”

“No story can be sliced so thin that it does not have two sides. We hope that judgment will be reserved until all the facts of this case are given fair consideration in court,” said Bremner.

During the investigation, the teen told detectives she had not meant to hit the deputy with her shoe, and said she never resisted arrest. She also said the incident left a bruise on her right hip, as well as scratches on her arm and neck. In fact moments after the attack, the girl complained about not being able to breathe properly. Medics were called and examined her but decided that she did not need hospitalization.

Now that the criminal investigation is complete, the sheriff’s Internal Investigations Unit will launch its own probe. The result will determine discipline, which could include termination.

Teen Attacks Parents over Cellphone Use

This is one of those stories that makes you stop and think. Some parents really have no control over their kids. Discipline seems to be a concept of a bygone era. Some children have lost all respect for parental authority. The following story may not be typical of the problems most parents face but at the same time it is not as uncommon as you might believe.

The following appeared in the news journal Delawareonline.com written by Ira Porter dated Jan.26, 2009:

A 16-year-old Laurel girl threatened her parents with two large kitchen knives early Sunday after her father confiscated her cell phone.

The frightened parents retreated into their bedroom and locked the door, then called police. It took officers about 10 minutes to calm the girl and persuade her to put down the knives, Delaware State Police said.

“I can’t comment on the state of mind of the juvenile, but this is one extreme example of a teenager having something as little as her phone taken away from her and how it affected her emotionally,” said Cpl. Bruce Harris.

State police said they were called to the home in the 11000 block of Sandy Ridge Drive at about 3 a.m.

Police said the girl’s father heard her talking on the phone in her bedroom, and knew that there were no minutes left on her phone.

He said he suspected the girl had stolen money from her mother’s purse earlier in the day to purchase minutes on a prepaid card, Harris said.

After the father took the phone from the girl, she became angry, grabbed two large kitchen knives and threatened her parents, police said.

The parents locked themselves in a bedroom and called police. Police said the teen violently attacked the door.

Police responded and talked the girl into putting the knives down after 10 minutes of negotiating. She was charged with possession of a deadly weapon during the commission of a felony, two counts of aggravated menacing, terroristic threatening, disorderly conduct, theft, criminal mischief and possession of a deadly weapon by a person prohibited.

She was committed to Stevenson House after failing to pay $14,000 secured bond.

The William Marion Stevenson House Detention Center is a lock-secure facility staffed for 55 pre-adjudicated male and female youth under the age of 18 years old, located in Milford, Delaware.

Several types of programs are available: HIV prevention, pregnancy prevention, aggression resistance, and drug education. Certified providers offer medical, dental, and psychological services. Religious services of various faiths are regularly scheduled or can be provided upon request.

Academic education is provided by public education teachers. Credits received in these facilities can be transferred towards a high school diploma or GED.

Throughout the resident’s stay, staff maintain contact with the family to assist in adjusting the youth’s behavior towards becoming a better citizen. Services are available to assist them in providing guidance to help their child to meet this goal.

They also have a strict policy with regards to telephone use:

Once a youth is admitted, they are given the opportunity to make two phone calls; after those calls, all phone calls are collect. Each resident will be given a PIN number and only allowed to make outgoing calls to the phone numbers on their phone sheet. Residents may receive phone calls from court workers, social workers, attorneys, DFS workers, and Aftercare/Probation workers at any time. Resident may telephone their attorney at any reasonable time if the attorney agrees to accept the call or the charges. Residents may call parents, legal guardians, foster parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and siblings as indicated on their phone sheet.

At least here there seems to be strict discipline. I am sure the teen who thought is was OK to pull a knife on her parents will have a long time to think about actions and consequences. She will in all likelihood end up with a criminal record which might follow her for the rest of her life. Did things really have to go this far??

Encouraged by Crowd Teen Commits Suicide

Shaun Dykes, 17, from Kilburn, Derbyshire in Britain was a troubled, gay teen who had just recently broken up with his boyfriend, 18-year-old David Challands with whom he was living. His life ended on Saturday, 27 September 2008. He commited suicide by jumping 60 ft to his death from the top of a multi-story car park at the Westfield Shopping Center in Derby city. See a TV report of the incident here.

Police negotiators, who spent over two hours trying to dissuade 17-year-old Shaun Dykes from jumping from the roof said their work was made much more difficult by heckling from the crowd which had gathered on London Road below. According to witnesses, as the negotiators were trying to convince Shaun to come away from the edge of the roof, people in the crowd below were taunting the teen with shouts of: “How far can you bounce?”, “Go on, jump”, “Get on with it” , “Stop wasting time” and “You’re wasting tax-payers’ money.”

At the inquest, on Thursday, January 15, 2009, Louise Pinder, deputy assistant coroner for Derby Coroner’s Court, said she thought it was a “great shame” the people goading Shaun had not been identified and brought to justice.

“I find it incomprehensible that while two police negotiators were talking with such sensitivity and taking such care with Shaun that those members of the public below were acting so insensitively and with no apparent concern for a fellow human being.”

She returned a verdict that Shaun Dykes, of Elm Tree Avenue, took his own life, saying it was “abundantly clear” there were a number of factors leading to his death. The coroner said: “Those individuals who taunted Shaun are responsible, at least in part, for his death.”

Inspector Barry Thacker, one of the negotiators gave this account of what was happening just moments before Shaun jumped to his death:

“Hand on heart, I felt we made some progress towards the end. He asked us to stop talking because we were giving him too many options, and I could see in his eyes that he was weighing up the positive things in his life. I took that as a positive sign.

“But when he heard the shouts he would disengage from us, look at the people on London Road, close his eyes and start counting down from 10 – obviously a sign he was preparing to jump. That happened on three or four occasions, but we managed to get him back.”

Seconds before he died he reached for Insp Thacker’s hand to help him down, but was distracted by shouts of: “You’re wasting tax-payers’ money.” The inspector said he then turned again, closed his eyes and jumped.

After Shaun Dykes jumped to his death, in what can only be described as gruesome and sickening, some of the spectators in the crowd who had been goading the disturbed young man to jump, broke through the police cordon to take pictures of the dead teen, using their cellphones.

Commenting on the behavior of the crowd, Superintendent Andy Hough, of Derbyshire police, said he was disturbed and disappointed by what had happened:

People were at the police cordon shouting for the man to jump,’ Superintendent Hough said. ‘I find it a disturbing and shocking reflection on society when people feel inclined to do that. Negotiators were working with the man threatening to jump and it was their job to talk to him in the hope of changing his mind. We really need the public to work with us, not against us. It was a very disappointing situation.’

Just days before his suicide, Shaun had broken up with his boyfriend, David Challands, 18, of Avis Avenue, Marlpool. Shaun was suffering from depression and had twice before tried to take his own life. David said of his former boyfriend:

“I knew he was unstable half-way through our relationship. He would tell me about feeling depressed, he thought nobody cared about him. Daily, I had to reassure him that everyone was there for him. He said if I left him he would kill himself, and I knew that he would, so I felt like I had to stay with him.” He added that he ended the relationship as he “really just couldn’t do it anymore”.

Shaun was a student at Heanor Gate Science College in Heanor, Derbyshire. Earlier Shaun’s mother Tina told the inquest her son felt under pressure because his GCSEs were approaching. His headteacher Rob Howard said: “One or two students were standing near people goading him to jump.

“One student told me he could not believe people place such little value on life. It’s almost like they are in a television show. The sad thing is that a couple of the students, if they could have got close enough, felt that they could have made a difference.”

Lindsey Reid, 17, Shaun’s best friend since he was four, said: “He was the joker, always smiling. He’s not the sort of person you’d expect to do this.”

Sexting Teens face Child Porn Charges

Sexting is one of those words that you will probably not find in the dictionary, not yet anyway. Born from the convergence of sex and text messaging, it has become a widespread phenomena among young teens, where nude or partially nude pictures are sent via cellphones.

Sexting is what landed six students – 3 girls aged 14 to 15-years-old and 3 boys aged 16 to 17-years-old –  at Greensburg Salem High School in Greensburg, Pa., in serious trouble with the law: They all face child porn charges. The girls are accused of taking nude or semi-nude pictures of themselves and sending them to three male classmates via their cellphones.

The female students face charges of manufacturing, disseminating or possessing child pornography while the boys face charges of possession of child pornography.

It all began when school officials seized a cell phone from a male student who was using it in violation of school rules and found a nude photo of a classmate on it. Police were called in and their investigation led them to other phones containing more photos. The school district issued a statement saying that the investigation turned up “no evidence of  inappropriate activity on school grounds … other than the violation of the electronic devices policy.”

Capt. George Seranko, of the Greenburg police said that the first photograph was “a self portrait taken of a juvenile female taking pictures of her body, nude.”

The police decided to file child pornography charges to send a strong message to other minors who might consider sending such photos to friends.

“It’s very dangerous,” Seranko said. “Once it’s on a cell phone, that cell phone can be put on the Internet where everyone in the world can get access to that juvenile picture. You don’t realize what you are doing until it’s already done.”

However one Philadelphia defense attorney, Patrick Artur, thinks the police have gone too far. He said the prosecution of minors for photos they took themselves runs counter to the purpose of both state and federal child pornography laws: Preventing the sexual abuse of children by “dirty old men in raincoats.”

“It’s clearly overkill,” Arthur said. “… The letter of the law seems to have been violated, but this is not the type of defendant that the legislature envisioned” in passing the statute.

Under Pennsylvania law there is no mandatory minimum sentence for child pornography, so even if the teens were convicted they would not necessarily face the prospect of jail time. But nevertheless a conviction would carry very serious consequences – including forcing them to register as sexual offenders for at least 10 years.

According to a national study, by The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, most teenagers who were sending the explicit messages were sending them to boyfriends or girlfriends, while others said they were sending the pictures in a bold move to secure a date, or to someone they had got to know online.

In fact the study found that sexting starts at a young age and becomes more frequent as teens become young adults. The survey was conducted among 653 teens (ages 13-19) and 627 young adults (ages 20-26)—between September 25, 2008 and October 3, 2008. The complete report can be found here. Some of the findings were:

How many teens say they have sent/posted nude or semi-nude pictures or video of themselves?

• 20% of teens overall
• 22% of teen girls
• 18% of teen boys
• 11% of young teen girls (ages 13-16)

How many young adults are sending or posting nude or seminude images of themselves?

• 33% of young adults overall
• 36% of young adult women
• 31% of young adult men

How many teens are sending or posting sexually suggestive messages?

• 39% of all teens
• 37% of teen girls
• 40% of teen boys
• 48% of teens say they have received such messages

How many young adults are sending or posting sexually suggestive messages?

• 59% of all young adults
• 56% of young adult women
• 62% of young adult men
• 64% of young adults say they have received such messages

Authorities have been taking an increased interest in sexting resulting in many young people facing arrest and prosecution for sending and receiving the obscene messages. Jim Brown, a school officer at Glen Este High School in Ohio said:

“If I were to go through the cell phones in this building right now of 1,500 students, I would venture to say that half to two-thirds have indecent photos, either of themselves or somebody else in school.”

He said that what started as a bit of fun was starting to have severe consequences, ranging from humiliation at school when the pictures are spread amongst students, to the loss of jobs or college scholarships after the photographs are posted on websites. When kids are 14 or 15, Brown said, they don’t often make the right decisions.

“They think, ‘I have the right to decide what’s best for me.’ The next thing you know, it’s on YouTube, and you become an international star because you’re exposing part of your body. … Then, they want to retrieve their good reputation, and they can’t.”

Jim Brown also says that parents have a role to play by paying more attention to their kids’ use of technology. “It’s ‘Kids Gone Wild,’ with technology being provided by the parents,” he said.