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. 

The Ohio State senate is considering legislation that would address sexting, reducing it from a felony to a first degree misdemeanor.

In Utah, sexting is a misdemeanor, but in most states the practice is still a felony.

Earlier this year, Vermont passed legislation that decriminalized consensual sexting between kids who are 13 to 18 years old. Because of that action, charges of sexual assault levied against a Vermont teen were dropped as part of a plea deal.

The teen was sentenced to 90 days in jail on charges of committing a prohibited act and a count of lewd and lascivious conduct. This after he was accused of asking two teen girls to photograph and videotape themselves in compromising situations and relay the results via cell phones. This falls under the definition of sexting and is the state's first sexting case.

Vermont legislators recognize that branding a teen for life as a result of a foolish decision is not the intent of the law. There is a great difference between minor sexting and criminal activity.

A sexting case in Pennsylvania has generated a flurry of lawsuits after Wyoming County District Attorney George Skumanick threatened to file child pornography charges against a group of students whose cell phones contained images of two girls taken a slumber party two years ago, and another that a girl took of herself.

The district attorney offered a counseling and "re-education" course in lieu of the charges; 14 students and their parents accepted the offer, but the three girls and their parents did not. The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania filed a lawsuit in federal court requesting that the prosecutor be barred from pressing charges against the three girls.

U.S. District Judge James Munley did issue a temporary restraining order to prevent child pornography changes being filed. That decision was upheld in a May 26, 2009, order issued by the federal court and is still pending.