Bay Area teen accused of 'Sexting'

BROOKSVILLE - We've all heard of texting, but have you heard of 'sexting'? It appears many teenagers have, and many are doing it.

April Sutton, 17, knows kids who have.

"You should think about it before you do something cause you will get caught or you will get rumors spread about you in school and it's not good," Sutton said.

Sending sexually explicit photos and messages to friends is known as 'sexting'. It makes April's father a little nervous.

"Kids are growing up too fast," Tom Sutton said.

A Hernando County teen was recently arrested on child pornography charges after investigators said he sent a picture of his private parts to a girl in his class. The 14-year-old said he was in his bedroom and bored.

Rod Reder, retired investigator for the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office says adolescents need to be warned about the new technology and its legal consequences.

"I think we need to educate the kids as soon as they get a cell phone whatever age it is you need to educate them on the laws," Reder said.

Kerri Callahan is a young mother who wonders what kind of challenges she'll face when her daughter grows up. But Callahan feels empathy for the 14-year-old and his parents.

"Now he's in a lot of trouble just because he didn't know. I'm sure he was doing it in fun with a friend that thought it was also funny," she told FOX 13. "But now he's going to have that on this record as a parent I would definitely be concerned about that."

School officials say 'sexting' is a trend that's increasing across the country.