Teens in Minnesota who engage in sexting can be prosecuted and punished for serious crimes. Without specific state legislation, sexting is usually prosecuted under child pornography laws.     

On a federal level, the Prosecutorial Remedies and Other Tools to end the Exploitation of Children Today (PROTECT) Act of 2003 makes it illegal to produce, distribute, receive, or possess with intent to distribute any obscene visual depiction of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Although students may be aware of some of the legal consequences surrounding underage sexting, some forget the severity of the consequences.

“I don’t think [people who sext] think about [the legal consequences] at all,” said Noah Baker, junior. “I think that, with everything nowadays, they think that if they snap a pic and send it through Snapchat, it’s gone in seven seconds and they don’t have to think about it ever again, but that’s not necessarily the case.”

If an individual were to be convicted of a crime related to child pornography, he or she would be required to register as a sex offender under Minnesota Law.

These crimes have become a commonality across the nation. Recently, 12 students at Three Rivers High School in Michigan were implicated in a sexting scandal involving a classmate and prosecuted for child pornography. The officers involved in the investigation said the pictures were first sent consensually and meant for just one person.

The pictures ended up being spread around the entire school, which involved more people in the crime. Teens in Colorado are also under a similar investigation involving the spread of nudes. A minor sent a semi-nude picture to her boyfriend, a person she trusted, and shortly after another student got a hold of his phone and spread the images.

One reason students claim to send nudes is because they say they trust the person on the other side, but recently, this has been put into question.

“If you’re okay sending it, then you’re okay with people seeing it. It’s a possibility,” Lee said.

Although the legal repercussions are severe if participants are caught and prosecuted, underage sexting usually occurs without legal consequences. The social repercussions, however, almost always follow.

No students were willing to talk to the Royal Page on record, therefore the following student chose to remain anonymous.

“I’m a person who is very comfortable with my body, so it’s not like I regret [peers] seeing me or having those pictures. It’s more that I regret losing my dignity and self-respect and allowing someone who has such shallow values and such negative treatment of others to get their way,” the student said.

The student admits peer pressure was one of the factors in sending pictures.

“I didn’t do it out of the blue, obviously. Yes, guys asked, and at first I said no. But if you’re talking to them, and they are being nice, it isn’t a mean pressuring thing. It was more using niceness to make you want to do things for them,”  the student said.

Sending pictures has been called a ‘social norm’ around HHS. Students sext for numerous reasons, one being the attention received.

“For me, I just like the attention I get from those guys. I know that I don’t have to deal with being uncomfortable around them,” the student said. “But sometimes after you send pictures, you realize that the only reason a guy is being nice to you and talking to you is to get what they want out of you. Once they get what they want, it’s like they don’t care anymore about anything.”

After a picture of another student who wishes to remain anonymous had been distributed to many people, the student was shamed by her peers.

“A lot of my best friends turned on me and decided to take the side of [the person that distributed the picture], so I lost a lot of really close friends. Then [my friends] decided to go behind my back and call me a bitch. It was a huge loss of support throughout that time when I needed my friends,” the student said.

This crime of sending provocative pictures around has affected many students in a negative way.

“It’s just frustrating to have to deal with [the consequences] all the time. It’s totally a violation of privacy because you can’t walk around the halls without thinking ‘Who has seen me shirtless,’ and it’s terrible to think that,”  the student said.

Although her peers have stopped talking about it, the student still feels hurt by the situation and is constantly reminded of her actions.

“After a while it all blows over, but it still affects that one person. Everyone else moves on, but the one person never stops dealing with it and they can’t voice it with anyone,” the student said. “That’s what I’m dealing with, because everyone is over it but I’m not.”

Among a generation of Snapchat, texting, and Photo Vault lies the common crime of sexting.

“Sexting” is the sending of nude or sexual photos by electronic means or devices. Sexting is illegal if the person depicted is under 18, yet many photos go around unnoticed.

“I would think there are hundreds of nudes on people’s phones, on a locked app,” said Rachel Lee, senior.

This issue is not unique to one area, state, or high school. Nor is underage sexting removed from the Hopkins District borders.

“I think it started in seventh or eighth grade [for people in my grade] – I think mostly when people got phones and had access to things like that,” said Annika Carlander, sophomore.

Mr. Xeev Vang, school counselor, has noticed this phenomenon in the high school. Although no student has confronted him about it this year, he did talk to students about in previous years.

“[Students sexting] has occurred for sure. Earlier this year, we had a workshop about the different apps out there that teens are using and how they are impacting situations such as [underage sexting],” Vang said.

The Royal Page interviewed many additional students who would not go on the record. All had noticed sexting among high school students. Many referenced knowing people who do it, and several admitted to having seen nude photos of someone under 18. A few had even sent them.

“It’s unfortunate how many people have seen [nudes], how many people have taken part in it,” said Noah Baker, junior.

Many people become involved in sexting through the distribution of photos: the person who received a photo then sends it to additional people, who may in turn spread it even further.

“People will send [nudes] to group chats,” Carlander said. “I know a bunch of guys in my grade who have a group chat where they send nudes that they get into it.”

If a student was unwantedly implicated in sexting, the counselors at HHS are prepared to help them.

“Our main goal would be to comfort the student, to provide as much support as possible, even if it is us contacting their parent about it. Then, of course, the counselor will connect with the student, making sure they are still comfortable in the school,” Vang said. “We always want to make sure that the students feel safe and comfortable.”

The crime of underage sexting begins with the minor who sends the photo. Which, according to a study by the Internet Watch Foundation, is more than three times likely to be a female.

“I think it’s done to show off. Like, ‘I’m cute, come get me,’” said Sam Greenwald, senior.

Conversely, the article “Cyberbullying and Sexting: Technology Abuses of the 21st Century” affirms that males are more likely to receive those sexts.

Baker and Greenwald think that getting sexts has turned into a competition of sorts for males.

“With some of the guys around here, it’s ‘How many girls did you hook up with?’ ‘How many numbers do you have?’ or ‘How many pictures do you have?’ and I guess that’s kind of the cool thing, maybe? Competition, definitely,” Baker said.

Greenwald noticed a similar trend in spreading nude photos.

“Part of spreading [nudes] is part of the conquest – ‘Look who I got to send me a nude,’” Greenwald said. “Also, it’s not explicitly trying to shame women, but in the society we have – very patriarchal – women are these objects that we can just show their pictures all over.”

Sexting may be becoming ingrained in U.S. culture. Jennifer Lawrence’s leaked nudes and Kim Kardashian’s rising to fame from a sex tape are primary examples.

Many students interviewed said they don’t see sexting as a major issue.

“You shouldn’t be forced into doing something, but if you’re fine with it, then do it; it’s not that big of a deal,” Carlander said.

Baker, however, sees how sexting can come back to haunt students.

“It’s an in the moment deal. It’s a, ‘I really like this girl,’ ‘I really like this boy,’ ‘I don’t want to make them feel like they don’t trust me or I don’t trust them,’ and then they just [send] it. Then they think it’s over with, but that’s not the case,” Baker said.