An Extreme Example of Misinterpretation
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Loading ...An article was published in the Washington Post over the weekend describing one teacher’s harrowing introduction to sexting. As they are known to do, parents and prosecutors evidently jumped to some conclusions and misinterpreted the actions this teacher was taking in investigating and dealing with a case of sexting about a year ago. As a criminologist, I am keenly aware that the Court of Public Opinion does not operate under the assumption that one is “innocent until proven guilty.” These are very difficult situations to deal with and one can easily get caught up in assuming the worst. As the author points out: “…my experience is a warning for all educators who find themselves trying to negotiate the slippery terrain where rapidly advancing technology intersects with risky adolescent behavior.” Interesting read but scary story…what do you think? What could he have done differently?
Related posts:
- Sexting – education, research, and multidisciplinary prevention and response
- Students and teachers becoming a little too “friendly” in cyberspace
- The sexting case in Virginia, and the need to identify and share best practices
- Cell Phones at School and Student Expectation of Privacy
- Digital “Sexploitation:” An Extreme Example of Cyberbullying
April 22nd, 2009 at 6:51 am
When the administrator allowed te boy to send the sexual image to his own cell phone, how is he any less guilty than the boy? For whatever reason, he allowed the image to be knowingly transferred to his phone. Is being ignorant of the law a legal excuse for professionals who are put in charge of our children? It isn’t for anyone else in society.The boy didn’t send the original picture to himself. If I send you a picture of myself without your permission, are you guilty for looking at it or am I for sending it? Is sexting any worse than teenagers having sex? Do you think you can stop that?Anyone who can figure out how to get sex off teenagers minds will hit the mother lode with the discovery. I certainly do not know the answers and am not an expert in this field, but as a parent, these are my thoughts.
April 26th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
One fortunate aspect about these publicized articles is that we can integrate them into cyberbullying/online behavior lessons in schools. As a school social worker, I go into classrooms and provide lessons on how to be a cybercitizen. For the 7-9th graders, this article is a useful tool that realistically demonstrates the consequences of “putting yourself out there” in cyberland or through sexting.
May 22nd, 2009 at 2:38 pm
It doesn’t seem to me that Mr. Oei even broke any laws, since the photo described doesn’t fit the definition of child pornography. I believe that’s why the cases were dismissed. Those of us in Southside Virginia always hear about how progressive everything is in NOVA, but it seems that they’ve elected a prosecutor who doesn’t know how to research the law. Ironically, this computer related case happened in the same county where AOL has it’s operations center. You’d think they’d know something about CP and how to prosecute the cases.
June 17th, 2009 at 9:21 pm
why would a teacher do that?that so dumb. he just wants to get in jail for no reason. in the 1970’s people had a reason they did crimes now people go to jail because they do crimes for no reason.
July 7th, 2009 at 9:28 am
[...] April, Justin briefly blogged about this article from the Washington post entitled My Students. My Cellphone. My Ordeal. [...]
July 20th, 2009 at 9:46 am
[...] Justin and I have both blogged about the case where an assistant principal in Virginia was charged with possession of child pornography after trying to investigate a sexting case through the collection of evidence where a student emailed the evidence (a sexually-explicit picture of a minor) to his office computer. The charges were eventually dropped, and the latest update is that the county school board has decided to remunerate him for his legal fees – which totaled to $167,621.64. While I think the entire ordeal is highly regrettable, I’m pleased that the administrator will be able to recoup his legal expenses – a nontrivial gesture that should help him as he tries to move forward with his life. The concern is that the entire ordeal will likely have a chilling effect on the way school administrators and educators do their job in safeguarding the youth under their care. In fact, that is the general sentiment expressed by the school professionals with whom we share the story. We have to push through the tendency to do nothing, or pass the responsibility to someone else, or trivialize the potential outcomes. As mentioned in weeks past, my hope is that when an adult at school learns about sexting evidence, they immediately contact their school district attorney and local law enforcement. These persons can then thoroughly investigate the case before advising that adult as to how best to discipline those involved. With all of this said, we have got to communicate across counties and states to figure out exactly what policies districts are crafting (and how they are enforcing them) when it comes to students and cell phones in general. I feel this is slowly happening with cyberbullying prevention and response strategies, but not with the issue at hand. Share your Thoughts: [...]