B.C. Mounties work to curb teen 'sexting'

Police and school officials in Prince George, B.C., are working together to curb "sexting," a disturbing new trend among high school students.

Mounties say a growing number of teenaged girls — some as young as 13 — are taking part in "sexting", or sending nude photos of themselves to others, via cellphone.

"Many are taking part willingly and submitting photos to groups for viewing by multiple boys," said RCMP Cpl. Craig Douglass.

What police find most shocking, he said, is how casually teens seem to view the activity.

"We did speak to a number of them and they've conveyed how common it was to us," Douglass said.

"We've spoke to girls as young as 13 years old here in Prince George and certainly plenty of them are just, 'Oh yeah, that  happens. We do that.' And it's just sort of what's done, which is astonishing to me."

Police say the revealing pictures can never be pulled from the internet and people sending such photos — even of themselves — face the risk of being charged with distributing child porn.

Investigators say the trend is astonishingly common in Prince George and is also widespread in other cities, even though the pictures could affect a young person's reputation for years to come.

Canadian internet child safety expert Merlyn Horton said a recent U.S. study found 20 per cent of underage youngsters have sent nude or semi-nude pictures of themselves.

In one Lower Mainland high school, she said students still circulate a four-year-old picture of a former male student who once exposed himself for the camera.

"Seniors  still pass that image down to the juniors," Horton said. "It's still very much a public image."

Horton said parents should talk to their children about the consequences of such behaviour because future prospective employers could find the images online.