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Another Teen ‘Sexting’ Peril: Charges (Now Dismissed) Against School Official

Posted Apr 21, 2009 11:04 AM CST
By Martha Neil

When Ting-Yi Oei heard rumors that students at his high school were sending revealing photos to each other on their cell phones, the Loudoun County, Va., assistant principal felt it was his job to investigate this obviously undesirable behavior.

In consultation with the school principal and security specialist, he interviewed students and identified one such so-called "sexting" photo (the 16-year-old subject was wearing underpants). Then, as instructed by the principal, saved a copy of the photo, in case it was needed for further investigation. Sending it to his own cell phone, however, he now realizes was a mistake, writes Oei himself in a lengthy Washington Post article.

Soon, after a parent of a suspended student complained, the 30-year educator, at age 59, was facing highly publicized charges of failing to report child abuse—and possession of child pornography. Although the charges eventually were dismissed by a judge, the experience meanwhile provided him with an unexpected education in the workings of the criminal justice system.

Stunned by the charges, he was also "furious that the sheriff's department, by its own admission, had never even investigated the original incident. No one interviewed the principal until after my lawyer demanded that they do so," he says. "They'd simply taken the word of a disgruntled parent."

Meanwhile, he and his wife drained their savings and borrowed to pay his hefty defense costs, and even some longtime friends doubted his innocence. Plus, instead of addressing the sexting problem among the students and moving on, those involved—including not only police and school officials but students who potentially would have been required to testify in his case—have been wasting their energies on a baseless prosecution.

Now, after months of worry, he is hoping to be back at the high school for this year's graduation. However, Oei says, "I can no longer look at the power of prosecutors and our justice system the way I once did."

Related coverage:

ABAJournal.com: "Fed’l Judge in Pa. Backs ACLU, Bars DA from Charging Teens for ‘Sexting’ "

ABAJournal.com: "Prosecutor Gets 6-Month Suspension for Showing Teen Sex Photos to Parents"

Comments

1.

What ever happened to parenting?
Apr 21, 2009 11:20 AM CST

Disgusting…  Absolutely disgusting…  True, sending the photo to his own cell phone was probably not the smartest move, but this witch hunt is ridiculous.  When did we cross the line from having parents parent their children to requiring school administrators and law enforcement to do so???  That poor excuse for a “mother” deserves to be slapped with a suit for malicious prosecution…

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2.

ESM
Apr 21, 2009 12:39 PM CST

LOL Give me a break!! So now that he’s a target of the witchhunt against CHILDREN he overzealously participated in we’re supposed to feel sorry for him??? He brought this on himself and next time he’ll save the law and order bit for real crime. And if he’s dumb enough to send the pic to his personal cell phone he needs to be fired!

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3.

No, give ME a break...
Apr 21, 2009 12:58 PM CST

He brought this on himself? Why, because it’s somehow his fault that kids sending (in this case not even) naked photos of themselves to other kids has become a sex crime and constitutes kiddie porn, regardless of the fact that it’s being perpetrated by the group of people the law is intended to protect? I have to agree with you, ESM, that it is an absud witch hunt against the children, but, yes, I DO feel sorry for him. First, as a school administrator, he is being tasked with parenting the children in his school. Why? Because so few parents bother to do it anymore, and the school would be the first place toward which fingers would be pointed when this inevitably ends up in court because they “allowed it to go on.” Second, because of the witch hunts, it is a crime for these kids to send naked (or nearly naked) photos of themselves around.  Therefore, if the administrators know it’s going on, they actually have the obligation to do something about it.  So, yes, I DO feel sorry for him. It shouldn’t be his job. But it is. I DO feel sorry for him for nearly being labeled as a criminal for trying to do the right thing…

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4.

Nudity, Vietnam, Napalm, (JAG @ Trang Bang, Ohio)
Apr 21, 2009 12:59 PM CST

#1.- What ever happened to parenting? “Disgusting…  Absolutely disgusting… ” WEHP,  I assume you type about the mother. :-)
——————————
WHAT IF? Phan Thị Kim Phúc had HER age 9 years Pulitzer Prize photo (PPP) on a cell phone, and while under the age of 18 years, sent the PPP to other minors’ cell phones, with the message, “Wars are bad and painful, even to unarmed civilians - avoid wars if at all realistic.”

The PPP had full frontal nudity including pubic hair. But I opine that some prosecutors and some “parents” would consider the PPP “porn.”

Anyone who would feel aroused at that PPP needs serious professional help—and lots of it.

Just Another Guy

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5.

And by the way.... (JAG @ OH, Curmudgeon w/o Portf
Apr 21, 2009 1:17 PM CST

Please do not fantasize that “adults are waxing in common sense. The following bill was introduced in the Ohio house last week. To my knowledge, no action yet. The text was taken from an HTML version and lines n#‘s may not match with text. The PDF URL should give a good read.
—-
http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/BillText128/128_HB_132_I_Y.pdf
Representative Maag  
Cosponsors: Representatives Uecker, Bubp, McClain, Stebelton, Huffman, Adams, J., Derickson, Grossman  
A BILL
[text deleted]
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That section 2907.324 of the Revised Code be         7
enacted to read as follows:                          8
Sec. 2907.324. (A) No minor, by use of a telecommunications     9
device, shall recklessly create, receive, exchange, send, or     10
possess a photograph, video, or other material that shows a minor 11
in a state of nudity.                              12
(B) It is no defense to a charge under this section that the     13
minor creates, receives, exchanges, sends, or possesses a       14
photograph, video, or other material that shows themselves in a   15
state of nudity.                                  16
(C) Whoever violates this section is guilty of illegal use of   17
a telecommunications device involving a minor in a state of     18
nudity, a delinquent act that would be a misdemeanor of the first 19
degree if it could be committed as an adult.              20

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6.

DR
Apr 21, 2009 1:38 PM CST

“No, give ME a break” said:  “Second, because of the witch hunts, it is a crime for these kids to send naked (or nearly naked) photos of themselves around.  Therefore, if the administrators know it’s going on, they actually have the obligation to do something about it.  So, yes, I DO feel sorry for him. It shouldn’t be his job. But it is.”

I find this portion of your post a little confusing.  Are you saying that because of the “witch hunts”, teachers and administrators are obligated to do something about these activities?  Are you saying that the obligation to report these activities shouldn’t be on the teachers/administrators?  If not, who is responsible for reporting these activities?  I trust school administrators and teachers to properly discipline my child while she is in their care during the day.  I’m not there to monitor her behavior during school hours and if she does something out of line, I expect that someone will call her on it.  I don’t care if “sexting” is a crime or not.  It is improper behavior and should be penalized, whether by teachers or parents or both.  We allow schools to punish students for cheating, but not for stuff like this?  It is improper behavior and should be dealt with by whoever had authority over that child at that given moment.  I think this guy’s situation was unusual and I’m sorry that he had to go through it, but I think your reaction to the mother/parents/society-at-large was a little over the top.

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7.

Feris Buhller
Apr 22, 2009 11:25 AM CST

I still don’t understand why it is an assistant principal’s job to police off campus student behavior that doesn’t use any school property or communications system. Why didn’t he just notify the parent of the specific incident, and let the PTA that this is a growing school problem and let them educate parents? Unless the kid took the photo at school or sent the photo using a school email address, I think he was truly overstepping his administrator role.

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