Teens learn consequences of sexting, cyberbullying for Law Day

By Tiffany Gibson

Friday, April 30, 2010 | 4:25 p.m.

Using cell phone cameras to capture intimate moments might seem like innocent fun to some teenagers, but Coronado High School students learned Friday that the act of "sexting" can be illegal and have serious criminal consequences.

In conjunction with Law Day, the session on sexting and cyberbullying was part of this year’s theme, “Enduring Traditions, Emerging Challenges: Technology and the Courts.” Officials said about 30 schools throughout Clark County hosted an event today with various attorneys and judges participating.

At Coronado, attorney Michael Stein and Nevada Supreme Court Justice Nancy Saitta kicked off the discussion by raising questions of privacy, free speech and criminal consequences.

“If you exchange, produce or transmit pictures of underage people you can be charged with child pornography,” Saitta said.

If administrators find cell phones on school property with nude photos, they are required to report it to authorities, Saitta said.

Another topic of discussion was cyberbullying. Saitta referenced the recent case of 15-year-old Phoebe Prince, a Massachusetts girl who killed herself after months of cyberbullying via text messages and the social networking site Facebook.

“This was a horrible thing to happen to this girl,” Saitta said. Some of Prince’s tormenters face felony charges.

A case of cyberbullying hasn’t yet come before the Nevada Supreme Court, but Saitta said Nevada is implementing a law July 1 to penalize digital harassment. Anyone who harasses or intimidates someone through a communication device or social media could face charges.

Deleting evidence of sexting and cyberbullying isn't necessarily an option. Saitta said detectives can quickly track down names and information that users thought was removed.

“Even though you delete something from your computer or phone doesn’t mean it’s gone,” Saitta said.