Special Reports

MIAMI (CBS4) ― "It happens constantly. It's like it's normal." She could be your daughter--a South Florida 9th grader willing to take us into the eye of a shocking cultural storm, a world where boys are asking girls to text them naked pictures of themselves. Sitting with CBS4 Chief Investigative Reporter Michele Gillen, she explains that it's a world where some of her girlfriends say "yes".

"She went ahead and sent it?" Gillen asked.

"She did it because she liked the guy," explained the student.

At 14, her young voice chillingly echoes children of a texting generation where boundaries are missing and the practice has gone viral. Type in "sexting" on YouTube and a plethora of spots pop up, urging viewers to "Sext them!"

But the personal impact may be more devastating than anyone yet knows.

"They are text messaging each other 100 times a day, sending pictures back and forth to each other non-stop, so they really don't see it as a big deal," says Leisa Wintz, who is an attorney and therapist with the Broward Teen Advocacy Project.

Her brainchild is a program taking aim at sexting, pioneering a first in Florida and is unique in the country. Wintz meets with kids every week to wake and wise them up.

"They don't get that you can get criminally prosecuted for disseminating this information that it is considered child pornography. And the minute you hit the send button, it has been disseminated," says Wintz.

Indeed, increasing numbers of kids and teenagers, like 18-year-old Philip Alpert of Orlando, are being arrested and charged with sending child pornography. He forwarded to friends a naked photo his then 16-year-old girlfriend sent to him.

"It was a stupid thing I did because I was upset and tired and it was the middle of the night and I was an immature kid," reflects Alpert. And now, "You will find me on the registered sex offender list, next to people who have raped children and molested kids, because I sent child pornography."

But Wintz is worried about a much deeper and devastating impact of what she believes can set the stage for violent teen relationships. She explained, "It becomes volatile at some point in time. They get in a fight and he has this thing to hold over her head and give her a reason to stay. My girls have told me that they have been told, 'If you leave me I will send this out to other people.' They also don't understand that there are serious consequences attached to the victim in these scenarios. The suicide rates go up astronomically, depression rates go up astronomically."

That's a fact the family of Jesse Logan knows all too well. Logan sent her then boyfriend a naked picture of herself and then he sent it to other students. The humiliation and taunting that resulted was apparently too much for the stunning student to bear and she took her own life.

"These relationships are very serious to them," said Wintz. "It is their whole world. Their social connections are their whole worlds when you are a teenager. And so I think the solution is educating."

Wintz is passionate about having parents get involved and get into the picture as early as possible.

"I think that the first step is to say, 'hey, I heard on the news tonight the sexting thing. What do you know about it... you know… have you seen this,'"suggests Wintz.

The 14-year-old who shared her perspective agrees. She may be young, but she understands the message.

"It's exploiting yourself."

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