Law enforcement officers from Jefferson and Jackson County delivered a blunt message to Jefferson High School students Friday: You have no idea of the seriousness of some of the things cell phones are being used for.
“The purpose of this meeting was to educate all the students in all grade levels on Digital Footprints and a new law about inappropriate pictures using AI (Artificial Intelligence), which as of July 1, 2024, is criminal,” Sheriff Janis Mangum wrote in a Facebook posting about the assembly. “So, using AI is not a defense. Our young people have no idea of the seriousness of their cell phones and inappropriate pictures being transmitted, cyber bullying, sexual picture extortion-by strangers who can be predators, etc.”
Sheriff Mangum said the high schoolers “have the knowledge now and we sure hope they all were paying attention. This is a serious thing that is going on with our young people.”
At 17 years of age, they are considered adults if they are committing criminal acts. This means they can be arrested, brought to jail, fingerprinted, etc. When nude photos are taken and sent, they have committed the crime of Distributing Child Pornography, which is a felony. Possessing those pictures is a misdemeanor, which is still a crime.
“When we get reports at the Sheriff’s Office of any of this behavior, we take the phones, get search warrants and dump the phones,” the sheriff said. “Young people think they are deleting things, however our Celebrite machine can retrieve all that information.”
“It is not our intent to cause harm to our young people, but to educate them on the dangers and the long-term effects this behavior will have (and) I encourage all parents of teenagers and even pre-teenagers, to go over this with your kids.”
And how well was the message received?
“For the most part,” Mangum wrote, “the students were very attentive.”