Prosecutor Enlightens Parents, Students on Dangers of 'Sexting'

Oakland County Prosecutor Jessica Cooper delivered a tough message about "sexting" and kids' use of cell phones and computers to parents and  students, warning them that "there is nothing temporary in cyberspace."

Cooper laid out the law Tuesday night in the school's Dondero Auditorium during

Cooper started off the hourlong presentation by telling parents they need to be sure to have discussions about proper use of computers and cell phones with their children. Parents are the ones purchasing the computers and cell phones, so if their children have freedom to have or use one, then the parents should be able to access the devices any time they please, she said.

“If there’s something on there they don’t want their parents to see, it shouldn’t be on there,” Cooper said.

Sexting – sending nude, semi-nude or explicit photos of someone electronically – is a large concern across the country, and Oakland County is no exception, Cooper said. The prosecutor noted that those who initially send the photo and the recipient could be prosecuted for participating in sexting if the person in the photo is a minor.

Unfortunately, Cooper said, many times an adolescent becomes involved in a relationship, one that most likely will be short lived, and in order to please the boyfriend or girlfriend, that youth will send photos of themself. When the couple breaks up, however, the recipient might choose to then forward the photos to whomever he or she wants, who then turn around and show it or forward it to others. In one case, Cooper noted, her department confiscated 200 phones to try to help erase what a young girl sent to her boyfriend. Even then, Cooper has no idea how many more images are out there of that same incident.

“There is nothing temporary in cyberspace,” Cooper said. “Once these pictures hit the air we can’t get them back.”

Paul Walton, chief assistant prosecuting attorney at Oakland County, joined Cooper in giving insight to how the law operates with sexting cases. Although Cooper noted they are a bit more lenient if it is a juvenile involved because the laws were made mostly for pedophiles and the like, the laws still apply because it is looked at as a case of child pornography.

During her presentation, Cooper explained that if the photo is of someone under 18 years of age, then just possessing the material could be charged as a four-year felony. Distribution of the photo could be bring for seven years in prison as a felony and the creation and solicitation of the explicit material is cause for a 20-year felony. All of the above require that individuals register on the Sex Offenders Registry as well.

“This is a case a week that's landing our desks,” Cooper said of sexting. "That's how prevalent the problem is."

Royal Oak Middle School counselor Kathy Knapp was pleased the attorneys delivered the presentation to the group of parents as well as many middle school students earlier that day. However, she was disappointed in the number of parents who attended Tuesday evening, making up about 12 audience members.

“I’m pretty bummed with the turnout,” Knapp said. “I think the subject is really important and we wanted parents to come to educate them.”

The parents who did attend agreed it was informative. Many commented on Cooper saying that all cell phones should have passwords on them as being something they would take away from the meeting and enforce at home. Cooper noted there have been cases in which lewd photos have been sent and the perpetrator had not been the owner of the phone, but someone else doing the dirty deed and trying to frame the other child.

“I have two children, one is 21 and the other is 13, so I’ve been through the teenage years before, but a lot has changed,” Royal Oak resident Cathy Sczechowski said. “I keep some controls over what she’s doing and I do plan on talking to her after tonight.”

Along with sexting, Cooper and Walton touched base on proper online etiquette. They noted how easy it is for predators to find out everything they need to know about a child because children constantly update their Facebook statuses informing the world what they are doing at every minute.