New numbers are out on "sexting, "That is when kids send sexually explicit photos or videos of children over the cell phone. An Associated Press and MTV poll finds more than a quarter of kids surveyed admitted to sexting in some form.
Syracuse's Denise Cassick home schools her six kids. She says its not the school lessons that are the most difficult. She's tries to teach them how to stay safe from inappropriate text messages.
Cassick said, "We're pretty close by because we only have one cell phone and we can check the history of it and make sure their time is limited."
But even that some times isn't enough. Recently Cassick learned one of her kids had been contacting someone she shouldn't have.
She said, "It could just happen. She could get involved with someone she doesn't know. That was a hard time for us."
It's a struggle for lots of parents.
Grandparent, Anne Kowalczyk said, "I haven't the vaguest idea how to protect them from that. It's difficult to monitor. If people want to get through with nasty stuff, it's insidious. I don't know where you'd begin."
In the special victim's unit at the Onondaga County District Attorney's office, they say cases of sexting are on the rise locally.
Assistant District Attorney Jeremy Cali said, "It's not surprising. As we talk to kids in the schools it's amazing. It was initially amazing how many of them have engaged in this kind of stuff."
The DAs office has been reaching out to students to let them know if they're caught sexting, there can be life-long consequences.
Cali said, "Once we get students thinking about it and educating them on what can happen when these images get out there, they are responding."
Cali says he believes the key to getting this under control is for parents to really get involved and monitor their kids cell phones and text messages. He said, "If they're going to hand a young person the kind of technology that comes with cell phones today and with laptops digital devices, they have to make sure their kids responsible enough to use them."
If you'd like to read the study in its entirety, click the link below and go to the Associated Press/MTV poll.
