;">At
least twice a week, Andy Marun said she saw the same scenario play out
at Spanish River High School in Boca Raton: A younger girl sending nude
images of herself to an older boy in an attempt to win his attention.
And it always played out the same way.

"The boys would usually show the pictures [to their friends] and at
lunch the girls would be crying," said Marun, 18, who graduated from
Spanish River in May.

While teens and parents don't always agree on whether teen sexting --
sending sexually explicit images of themselves, or others, via cell
phone or computer -- is acceptable behavior, most have no idea that
it's a crime.

Under Florida law, each image is a felony punishable by up to five
years in prison. The charge -- typically possession of sexual
performance by a child -- is intended to snare pedophiles and other
sexual predators. But teens who are sexting are caught in a loophole
that could have life-changing repercussions.

And here's the kicker: Both the sender and receiver are equally culpable under the law.

Law enforcement in Broward and Palm Beach counties has investigated
teens for sexting, though no one has been charged. Miami-Dade has had
no cases reported.

"We investigate sexting like any kind of child pornography case,
because that's basically what it is," Broward Sheriff's Office
Detective Eric Hendel said. "We get calls when a parent finds material
in their child's cell phone and they become inflamed. But they want to
back off when they find out their child is just as guilty because they
are actively participating in it."

Sexting has exploded onto the teen scene, according to prosecutors at
the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office, so much so that the
office is drafting a policy to address it.

"After that Orlando case hitting the papers, I see it coming down the pike," said Lynn Powell, chief of the juvenile division.

That Orlando case involved an 18-year-old boy seeking revenge on his
former girlfriend, 16, by e-mailing nude photos of her in 2007 to
scores of people, including her parents. Charged with sending child
pornography, the teen now finds himself on the state sex-offender
registry. Last year, an 18-year-old Ohio girl hanged herself after
being taunted by classmates after her ex-boyfriend circulated nude
photos she had sent him.

Miami-Dade County schools hope to have in place an anti-sexting
initiative for third through 12th grades when school opens Aug. 24,
according to student services director Deborah Montilla. The
multi-faceted approach includes working with state and local government
and law enforcement to review existing laws and training for parents
and school staff members.

A study published in December by The National Campaign to Prevent Teen
and Unplanned Pregnancy found that 22 percent of teen girls surveyed
admit sending nude images of themselves, compared with18 percent of
teen boys.

Accompanied by a detective, Palm Beach County Assistant State Attorney
Daliah Weiss speaks to students at middle schools -- the age group that
seems to be most involved in sexting -- to let kids know it's a crime.

"All kids have cell phones and electronic access," she said.

Spanish River principal Susan Atherley already is planning her assembly
topics for the coming school year and sexting, along with cyber
bullying and the posting of inappropriate photos and content on social
networking sites such as Facebook, is high on the list.

"We can't stop them, but we educate them," she said.

After a report from a school resource officer, the Broward Sheriff's
Office recently investigated a sexting case at Crystal Lake Middle
School in Pompano Beach. Two teen girls sent pictures of a third girl,
who had photographed herself in the shower.

"The parents were enraged that this was going on, but when it came down
to it, nobody wanted any kind of trouble from the criminal-justice
system on their kids -- middle schoolers," Hendel said. "I spoke with
them and let them know each picture is a third-degree felony if deemed
pornographic, and it was right on the border."

Over the past few months, West Palm Beach attorney Guy Fronstin has
been retained by the parents of five teens, ages 13 to 16, involved in
five separate sexting cases. In one case, a 15-year-old girl sent nude
pictures of herself to five boys with messages like "Thinking of you."

Fronstin said he has worked with law enforcement to resolve four of the
five cases without charges being filed. A fifth -- a 15-year-old boy
with numerous images of both acquaintances and strangers -- remains
under investigation.

"This is an issue that needs to be in a therapist's office, certainly
not on probation," he said. "These kids don't even realize it's a
crime."

Bill Albert, of The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned
Pregnancy, says sexting may be the gateway to more risky behavior.

"In our survey, four out of 10 said exchanging this sexy content in the
ether makes dating or hooking up with others much more likely," he
said. "Those who exchange sexy content are expected to hook up."

State Sen. Dave Aronberg , D- Greenacres, wants to look into carving an
exception to the law so that teens aren't tainted for life as a result
of a youthful indiscretion such as sexting.

"I hear stories like this all the time, about naked pictures being sent
over cell phones," Aronberg said. "To those of us who grew up without
cell phones, it's shocking. But the law should not treat it the same
way we treat Internet predators if this is between two kids acting
stupidly."

Earlier this year, Vermont and Utah amended their laws so that sexting
by minors would be charged as a misdemeanor instead of a felony.
Several other states are considering following suit.

Albert thinks the key to awareness is parents, who might not even know sexting is on their teen's "menu of options."

Draconian laws or not, Albert cautions that teens are prone to act impulsively.

"It seems a great proportion who have done this describe it as a fun
and flirtatious activity," he said. "They also freely recognize there
could be negative long-term consequences. What happens here is classic
teenage magical thinking. They're aware, but they don't think it will
happen to them."

Missy Diaz can be reached at mdiaz@SunSentinel.com or 561-228-5505.