GBI Agents Speaks at Piedmont Academy
Did you know if you are under the age of 18 and send an inappropriate or revealing photograph of yourself (sexting), via social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, Kik) or a cell phone, you could be charged with a felony?
This was one of many topics Special Agent Jackie Gittins with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) shared with Piedmont Academy students in grades five through 12 during their monthly chapel program last Friday. This topic was chosen to educate the audience about various issues regarding social media.
Agent Gittins stressed the fact that putting oneself in a serious situation also harms those who love and surround them.
Social media can be fun and entertaining to millions, but there are thousands of predators arrested every day who search for vulnerable children and young adults, she said. A significant amount time is spent by the GBI to find and arrest such predators.
Undercover agents pose as underage children and engage in conversations online. Once the predator is identified, the agents meet at a predetermined location and the predator is arrested. Just this year, 22 predators between the ages of 19-52 have been discovered and arrested in this area, she said.
Many people do not know all the tools our law enforcement agencies have available to them to recover and retrieve deleted text messages and pictures from cell phones and cell applications.
Georgia law, OCGA 16-12-100: Sexual Exploitation of Children, is a felony. The law states it is unlawful for any person to create, reproduce, publish, sell, distribute, give, or possess any photograph/video visual medium which depict a minor engaged in any sexually explicit conduct. The sentence is five to 20 years with a fine up to $100,000 per photograph.
Agent Gittins shared two stories with the students. In Indiana, two middle school students were caught using their cell phones to exchange nude pictures of each other and were charged with possession of child pornography and child exploitation. The charges carried a maximum of 11 years in prison.
Agent Gittins’ second story involved a 13 year old girl who met an 18 year old boy using an app on her phone. The girl decided to meet the stranger in person so she fled her bedroom one night. Tragically, she was found the next day stabbed to death.
Poor choices can come with some bad consequences. The agent told the youth to be diligent in making good choices and remember that once a message, photo, video, has been sent to cyberspace, it is out there for the whole world to see.