HUNTINGTON -- "The only way you'll be popular is if you're sexy."

Those words to a 12-year-old girl set in motion a string of events that started with a provocative picture being transmitted over a cell phone and ended with her moving two hours away to escape the humiliation when that picture made the rounds at a local school.

Just a few short years ago, the term "sexting" -- the sending and receiving of sexually explicit messages or photographs via cell phone -- did not even exist in the English language. Tuesday it was the subject of an hour-long presentation at Huntington High School that included teachers, principals, a digital forensics specialist for the West Virginia State Police and nearly two dozen concerned parents. An additional presentation is scheduled for noon Wednesday, March 10, at the Cabell County Public Library.

"Once these images make it to the Internet, you can't stop it," said Huntington High School Principal Greg Webb. "These provocative pictures being sent that are intended for one person are being distributed among friends. We want students to know there are legal ramifications to doing this, and we want to inform parents so they can protect their children."

An Associated Press/MTV poll conducted last fall estimated that one in four teens has participated in sexting. A recent survey at Huntington High indicated the number might be even higher.

"Of the students polled, 39.6 percent had sent or received these types of messages," said teacher Janie Mason, whose freshman honors class took the sexting project and ran with it. "These ninth-graders decided something had to be done to explain what could be life-long repercussions of this to the rest of the student body."

In the past year, at least two teen suicides in other states have been blamed on the shame and humiliation of pictures that went beyond their intended recipients. Beyond that, the legal issues can be equally damaging. Teenagers in West Virginia and Ohio can be charged with a felony for possessing child pornography and required to register as a sex offender for life. Kentucky has recently enacted House Bill 143, which reduces the punishment for first-time teen offenders to fines and community service. Similar bills have been introduced in Ohio (H.B. 132) and West Virginia (H.B. 4207).

"Part of the problem is that the laws have not kept up with changes in technology, so right now, there are very serious legal ramifications for teenagers who are participating in this type of behavior," Webb said.

Students at Huntington High School are permitted to use cell phones on campus, Webb explained, but if administration discovers sexting on phones, parents are informed and phones can be confiscated and turned over to the West Virginia State Police.

In one case in Virginia, a school administrator had charges filed against him for failure to report a sexting case, which was considered child abuse.

Christopher Vance, digital forensics specialist at Marshall University, works in conjunction with the West Virginia State Police. He said more than 50 percent of the cases they investigate involve child pornography, including images sent or received via cell phone, text message, e-mail or transmitted online.

"Kids need to understand that one press of the 'send' button can ruin a life," he explained.

Vance advised parents to use tracking software on their children's cell phones and "friend" them on Facebook and other social networking sites. He warned that most cell phones have geo-tagging capabilities attached with photographs that can display a teen's exact location, as well as the time and date a photo was taken, making the job even easier for people looking to prey on children.

"What I've seen, from my days up at school volunteering, some kids are not thinking. They're just doing it," said Kheng Yap-McGuire, president of the Local School Improvement Council. "Girls are sending them because a boyfriend is asking for it. Yesterday, I saw a story of two girls taking a picture of a 13-year-old on a toilet and posting it on MySpace.

"It isn't just what your kids may be doing, but what other people may be doing to your child."

Golden Girls Group Home executive director Renee Harrison said she's seen the other side of what can happen when children and teenagers are sexually exploited. She described an incident involving one girl who sent provocative pictures as a teenager after being abused as a child.

"That is the exception, a girl sending an image because of something done to her as a 5-year-old. These are 'good' girls and 'good' boys involved in sexting today and on a daily basis. These are our students, our children," she said. "As a parent, I don't think you can be too cautious."

"We've happened to catch a little of this here locally," Mason said. "Hopefully, we can nip it in the bud."

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A forum is conducted at Huntington High regarding the dangers of "sexting," a relatively new phenomenon where sexually explicit material is sent via cell phone.

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