In New Hanover, cases of obscenity on students’ phones are on the rise

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Following a recent increase in cases involving obscene material found on student phones at New Hanover County schools, the District Attorney’s Office is working to educate students, teachers and parents about the consequences.

Ashton Herring, assistant district attorney for New Hanover and Pender counties, who has served as a juvenile prosecutor in New Hanover County for four years, said at least five people have been charged in three separate cases in the county since March.

How does that work?

Typically, it starts with a student taking a video or photo of themselves, and the student may send the image to someone they trust or want to impress. The image then circulates in group conversations and can end up online, Herring said.

“I’ve said to parents and children on several occasions that nothing good comes from being a child in a group conversation,” Herring said.

Herring said obscene material is also being posted on Instagram or Snapchat “exposure accounts” and “spill the tea accounts,” which are anonymous accounts used as a form of gossip or exposing individuals. Students may operate an exposure account or send material to an account. Herring said the increase in cases specifically involves students, usually young high school students, filming other students engaging in a sexual act and posting it as a joke. The material can then end up on social media.

“They don’t understand that they just put out a picture of someone that everyone at that school knows. Because even though New Hanover is big, all those kids know each other because they communicate and connect on social media,” Herring said. “So that kid has just been humiliated for what they saw as a joke.”

In dating relationships, Herring said she’s also seen cases where a student sends something to his or her partner, and that person then shares it with others in group chats or other forums. Herring said the material is usually found because it’s circulated around the school or discovered at school by law enforcement who see it on social media, or by a student who tells a teacher.

What are the consequences?

What is normally called child pornography, North Carolina calls sexual exploitation of a minor. According to Herring, the consequences for students involved in this can be as severe as if they were charged with a crime as an adult.

  • First Degree: This is a Class C felony, which Herring said is not very common, but it involves using or encouraging a minor to engage in sexual activity to produce material that depicts sexual activity. This includes recording, photographing or duplicating material that depicts minors engaging in sexual activity for sale or monetary gain.
  • Second Degree: This is a Class E felony and the offense Herring said he has seen most often. It involves recording, photographing, duplicating, distributing, receiving or exhibiting material of a minor engaged in sexual activity. Herring said this offense is easy to charge because of the nature of the distribution.
  • Third Degree: This is a Class H felony, which is strictly speaking, possession of material of a minor engaged in sexual activity. Herring said most students are unaware that this is illegal, even if it is a photo of yourself. If the photo is sent to someone else, the offense is increased to a second degree, Class E felony.

Herring said the students and parents she dealt with were unaware that their actions were criminal. Students who are 16 or 17 in North Carolina and are charged with the Class E felony can be transferred to a higher court for trial as an adult. This means they would have a surety bond or unencumbered bond, no right to confidentiality and the offense would appear on their criminal record.

Even if someone is lucky enough to remain in juvenile court, the legal consequences may include: 12 months of supervised probation, a sex offender specific evaluation, sex offender specific treatment, residential treatment facility, 100 hours of community service, no unsupervised access to the internet, no unsupervised access to a cell phone, possible registration as a sex offender, confiscation of cell phone, and possible conviction for a school sports offense.

What is being done to educate students?

School-level training with school resource officers, presentations to the school board and district leadership are some of the ways Herring is getting the information out to help students. She said she plans to continue talking to students directly, because she knows it can be an uncomfortable topic for parents to discuss.

Academic Services Director Patrice Faison said the district’s priority is for every student to hear the presentation and that the district is working to incorporate the presentation into the curriculum at both high schools and colleges.

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