Ad4dcss/Digital Citizenship

Bunce was arrested "on suspicion of possessing indecent images of children, downloading indecent images of children and incitement to distribute indecent images of children" — all before a single image of such had been found on his computers at home and at work. He quickly found himself unemployed and estranged from his family. But his wife stuck by him, and while his computer sat in police custody waiting to be examined, Bunce took action.

Bunce used the U.S. Freedom of Information Act and a catalog of Internet Protocol addresses to establish that his credit-card number had been used in Jakarta, Indonesia, to buy child pornography online at the same moment he used the card to pay the bill at a London restaurant.

. About 40 percent of the nation’s minors have access to Webcams, Carrill explained, devices for uploading live video to the Internet. About 65 percent of all children have access to cell phone cameras.Carrill’s team recently started a new operation to search image-trading Web sites for known child pornography in Missouri. The results were frightening, he said. More than 6,000 images were found in the state; about 700 of those pictures were downloaded in the Kansas City area.Between sexual predators who fish for images and immature decisions by kids with cameras, more children are either having their images posted online or being exposed to pornography, according to a 2006 report by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

In the end, the best tool to defeat child pornography is parent education, according to both Shehan and Carrill. More than anything, kids need to know they can trust their parents.“It’s through that open line of communication between the parent and child that they can work through or prevent bad situations,” Carrill said.

All parents should follow a few basic rules when it comes to cyber safety, according to experts:- Keep computers in common areas of the home.- Monitor Internet use by children.- Enable privacy protection software.- Turn Webcams off or protect them with a password.- Track what images are being uploaded by children in the household.- Talk to children about what is appropriate.

Rather than force her daughter to take the classes, which would have required she write a report explaining why what she did was wrong, Miller and two other families ­-- with the help of the ACLU -- are suing the district attorney to stop him from filing charges. "We believe she was the victim and that she did nothing wrong," says Miller. "How can I ask her to compromise her values and write this essay, when she didn't do anything?" Although the district attorney maintains the program is voluntary, the letter he sent to parents notes, "Charges will be filed against those who do not participate." Seventeen of the 20 students caught in the sexting incidents have completed the 14 hours of classes.

Last year, Jessica Logan, a Cincinnati, Ohio, teen, hanged herself after her nude photo, meant for her boyfriend, was sent to teenagers at several high schools

No charges had been filed against Jessica's 19-year-old boyfriend, who disseminated the photo, nor had the school taken any action, Logan says. He says he and his wife want to warn parents and students of the dangers of sexting. The Logans are fighting to raise awareness nationally and to advocate for laws that address sexting and cyber-bullying.