Nude photo of teen disrupts high school

PLAINFIELD, Ill., Dec. 24 (UPI) -- Police in Plainfield, Ill., said a nude photo of a teenage girl that spread throughout a local high school prompted a major investigation into sexting.

Police said the investigation at Plainfield East High School was prompted by a 16-year-old high school honors student's decision to take a nude photograph of herself and send it to a male student, the Chicago Tribune said Thursday.

The photo of the student, whose identity was not released, quickly spread throughout the school.

While sending or receiving such images does violate child pornography statutes, no students at the Plainfield school have been charged to date.

The spread of the nude photo did lead police to seize nine cell phones and Plainfield police Sgt. Anthony Novak admitted sexting is becoming a problem in the community.

"It's something that's starting to become more and more of a problem," he told the Tribune.

Sexting is when an individual sends sexual messages or photos via electronic means such as a cellphone.

The Joliet (Ill.) Herald-News said results of a National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unwanted Pregnancy survey indicates 20 percent of teens have taken part in sexting.