CLEARFIELD – On Tuesday, the Lawrence Township Police Department initiated an investigation into a reported “sexting” incident at the Clearfield Area Middle School.
According to police, the incident occurred toward the end of the school day, when “inappropriate” content went from “phone to phone.” Police said that “young people” were involved in the incident.
Police said that “sexting” is the practice of taking or sending naked or sexually explicit photographs on a cell phone camera. Police said “sexting” occurs when the pictures are sent or displayed
Police noted that pictures of this nature, which includes minors, may be crimes under the state and federal child pornography statutes.
Police said that they’re still in the early investigative process, and no further information can be released at this time.
The most recent “sexting” incident marks the third reported locally.
On Feb. 19, GantDaily reported that Clearfield County District Attorney, William A. Shaw, Jr., had filed a juvenile petition, charging a Clearfield County juvenile for sending nude pictures.
The juvenile petition alleges that in June 2007, the girl was communicating over the Internet with a 27- year-old man via her “MySpace” page. While having online contact with the man, the juvenile took nude digital pictures and transmitted them to the male. During the investigation of the incident, the state police were able to recover the nude images of the girl from the man’s home computer. Ultimately, the girl and man engaged in unlawful sexual activity, according to the GantDaily report.
In the article, Shaw stated that it is with increased frequency that children are using modern technology to take nude and provocative self photos and transmit those photos to others. Sending naked pictures of yourself using text messages or the Internet has become an epidemic, according to Shaw. Children are engaging in this type of behavior at an alarming and unacceptable pace.
A week later, the Philipsburg-based State Police announced its own investigation into a report of ‘sexting‘ at the Philipsburg-Osceola Junior High School. Police said that nude pictures of a 13-year-old girl were texted to several other students.