Depending on the area, teens may face child pornography charges, felony assault charges and registry on sex offender lists for sexting. Education may help teens understand that inappropriate choices can last a long time.

It's a delicate balance these days and the ongoing trend of teens sexting is eliciting varied reactions. For some kids and their families, this form of social networking may have tragic and lifelong consequences as local law enforcement officials consider the issue of distributing child pornography, which is a felony. While working through the new complexities, those involved with kids and teens want to discourage immature and inappropriate choices for this age group.

A very high profile case in the Cincinnati, Ohio, area resulted in the suicide of an 18-year-old high school student just before graduation. Her parents are now suing Sycamore School District, the city of Montgomery, Ohio, and several students they believe were complicit.

The case addresses harassment and bullying in addition to sexting. Jessica Logan, 18, sent nude photographs of herself she took on spring break to her boyfriend, Ryan Salyers, assuming he would not pass the photos along to others. Instead he sent the photo to four others, and eventually the photo ended up with hundreds of teenagers in at least seven Greater Cincinnati high schools.

She was harassed, taunted, shunned and bullied at school, in online social networking sites, e-mail and by phone after the photos appeared. On July 3, 2008, she committed suicide at her home. Read More...