Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan could not have been more blunt.
The lawman offered a warning yesterday to every parent. Sexting is everywhere, and parents need to take action to make sure their kids are safe.
Hogan was offering an update on a sexting scandal that has rocked a couple of Main Line middle schools. Yes, I said middle schools. Hogan said his office has dealt with sexting cases with kids as young as 9.
This is the world we live in today, fueled by ubiquitous online access, social media and the cell phones that now run our universe.
Hogan said he had no doubt he could find evidence of sexting in every school in Chester County, as well as the rest of the region as well.
"I guarantee that if I pulled every phone in every school in every Chester County school district, you would find a gigantic pile of sexts."
Two related stories drove home his point.
At about the same time Hogan was delivering his warning, while also announcing serious criminal charges against a fourth male student in the Main Line incident, an Ohio man was in court in Delaware County to enter a plea to having inappropriate online communications with a 13-year-old girl here in Delco.
George William Smith was sentenced to 18 to 36 months in state prison.
The D.A.'s office noted they uncovered 4,500 messages between Smith and the girl, many of them sexual in nature. The girl also sent him nude photos of herself at his request.
And if you are still wondering about how pervasive this problem is, try this on for size.
Federal authorities yesterday announced charges against a Secret Service agent for sexting with a person he thought was a 13-year-old girl. He was arrested in Delaware. The feds say he took a picture of his genitals and then 'sexted' it to who he thought was the teen girl. It turned out to be an FBI agent.
Parents, you've been warned.
Comments