Police looking into sexting claims at Region 8 high school

JONESBORO, AR (KAIT) – The Jonesboro Police Department is investigating claims that nude photos of a teenager are circulating at a Region 8 high school.

According to the police report, a high school student told a school resource officer that a student sent nude photos to several classmates.

"Pictures or text messages or anything that you send out, once it is gone, it is out of your control, and it is in other people's hands, and there's no getting it back," said Valley View High School Counselor Robyn Ford.

Ford said many teens take the advice to think twice before they hit the "Send" button for granted.

In the recent incident, which did not take place at Valley View High School, a school resource officer filed a report stating a 17-year-old student was threatened via Twitter after the student told the officer about another student sending the nude photos.

Police said depending on the ages of the students, people in possession of the photos and the teen who sent the pictures could face child pornography charges if the claims are true.

"I have had students who had sent messages and said things in haste or when their emotions were high or low that they wish they could take back," said Ford.

Ford said young people growing up during the digital age need to remember that their actions as teenagers can come back to haunt them later, and could follow them for life.

"That's one thing that I tell them that perspective employers or internships or scholarship committees, they can look. They may look at your Facebook page. They may Google you on the Internet. So, those are things to be careful about. What you represent there, is it consistent with who you say you are?"