Tulsa World: Students' 'sexting' has Fairland fretting

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Students' 'sexting' has Fairland fretting
Prescription drug abuse also is discussed at a town meeting.

By SHEILA STOGSDILL World Correspondent
Published: 10/2/2009 2:25 AM
Last Modified: 10/2/2009 3:58 AM

FAIRLAND — About 75 people turned out for a town meeting Thursday evening to hear city and school leaders discuss "sexting" and the abuse of prescription drugs in Fairland.

Sexting — sending sexually explicit messages or photos electronically — "has not become a school problem," Superintendent Mark Alexander said. "It has not come into the classroom — yet — but it is a community issue."

"The consequences of sexting are enormous," he said, adding that under certain circumstances, an individual can be charged with distributing child pornography.

It doesn't matter who has the photographs, Police Chief Tony Wiseley said. "If you get caught (with them), you will be prosecuted and, if convicted, will have to register as a sex offender for life."

The Rev. Jackie Crafton said local youth ministers have been dealing with sexting.

"It is here in our community, whether you want to believe it or not, and it's with kids that you wouldn't believe it with," he said.

Many parents aren't aware that sexual messages and pictures are being sent or received by their children, he said. The ministers and churches in Fairland want to do something to help stop the practice — not just sweep it under the rug, he said.

Crafton said parents could put restrictions on their children's cell phones, such as limiting or disallowing text messages, or could take away a teenager's cell phone altogether.

The speakers also talked about the abuse of

prescription drugs.

Wiseley said more than 50 percent of the arrests made Monday in a drug sting in Ottawa and Delaware counties were for the sale and delivery of prescription drugs.

"We preach about putting our weapons up, but the No. 1 silent killer in this area is prescription medication," he said. "We secure our guns; we need to secure our medications."

Wiseley said his department recently investigated the accidental overdoses of two girls, ages 14 and 15, on prescription drugs that they obtained from another juvenile. Another recent investigation involved juveniles taking Prozac, and a third involved a juvenile stealing hydrocodone pills from a friend's house.

"It's here, and it's here in Fairland," Wiseley said of the prescription drug problem.

A student caught in Fairland Public Schools with illegal prescription medication can face as much as a two-semester suspension, school officials said. By SHEILA STOGSDILL World Correspondent

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	Report Comment Eric, Tulsa (10/2/2009 1:47:20 PM) ... Wow! I have to agree with all of the six comments above me! PAN - definitely! How did we EVER get by without cellphones when we were in skool?!??!?!!?!?!! ... .. .
	Report Comment ajohnb, Jenks (10/2/2009 7:18:33 AM) right on Andy33, thats logical. Then parents don't have to exert themselves to be parents. Thats just another service government can provide to make parents lives easier and provide for the people like government is supposed to do.
	Report Comment THESMOKEHOLE, Tulsa (10/2/2009 3:20:20 PM) Excellent title, TW!
	Report Comment forkandknife, Tulsa (10/2/2009 9:49:57 AM) I want to try this one. 555-6453 (sext me) This is dumb. All the cell phone carriers out there have a back to school special on phones. What sense does that make? Everyone is going to text. Just use the brain that God gave you and be wise about when and where you do it. End of the line.
	Report Comment NE Oklahoma Girl, NE Oklahoma (10/2/2009 8:45:50 AM) Why won't parents just turn off texting period. Make the phones for calls only. It's called parenting. More need to do it.
	Report Comment Phil # 3, Yukon (10/2/2009 8:03:33 AM) "My child would never do such a thing!" As a police officer some years ago, I heard that more times than I care to remember after catching some child red-handed in an illegal activity. Too many parents don't even know their children more intimately than physical recognition. Then to top it off, the laws governing requiring individuals to register as a sex offender is too far-reaching and too broad. Some of those being sentenced to decades or even life as a registered sex offender are actually not guilty of a crime involving sex at all. As usual, the public reaction to just about everything is a knee-jerk with emphasis on the "jerk" If you want to insure a child is not sending or receiving improper cell phone messages, remove the phone. How simple. I know, I know, YOUR case is 'special'. Your child "needs" a phone. And a new car. And ridiculously priced clothes. And they are so special they don't need supervision beyond the age of 10. Whatever! The solution is obvious.
	Report Comment PAN, (10/2/2009 4:02:09 AM) Take the phones away from the kids and keep their butts at home! Where are the parents? Cell phones were not even a 'vision' when I was a kid and I got along just fine without them.
	Report Comment andy33, Tulsa (10/2/2009 6:57:46 AM) Let's have the police form a sexting task force. These kids obviously need 5 years in prison and lifetime registration as sex offenders.

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