Sexting incident goes viral

Fall Village, Conn. (WTNH) - Parents and other residents in the Falls Village section of Canaan are getting involved after a local school reported it's first case of sexting.

According to students, a girl at Housatonic Valley Regional High School texted nude photos of herself to a male student. The image was soon forwarded to others, and now school administrators are trying to figure out a way to deal with the ugly side of technology.

Students say the picture spread quickly.

"Some girl sent some picture to a freshman, another freshman, he gave the picture to some of his friends," said Matthew Colby, a student at HVRHS.

"Freshman sent nude pictures of herself, to someone else, and that got around," said student Erik Kenniston.

"There was one day where everybody talked about it, and it got around school quick," said student Brandon Coe.

A few students alerted teachers, who told administrators.

In response, the school brought in experts to talk about internet safety and responsibility.

"The lesson is to get a handle on it, and to try and keep our kids as innocent possible, it gets tougher everyday," said parent Jason Allen.

An additional assembly will be held for parents and their children from fifth grade on up.

"We want to include our younger students as they go into middle school, so they're aware of the issues, and the dangers, and challenges related to this," said Superintendent Patricia Chamberlain.

According to Keelin Hodkins, the Cross Roads Deli in Falls Village seems to stream as much information as the world wide web.

"You hear it here first! You always hear it first at the Cross Roads Deli," said Hodkins.

The recent sexting incident and internet safety is something that Hodkins believes both her and her loyal customer base can take on.
 
"I definitely think if it becomes a problem here, it definitely would have community involvement," said Hodkins.

A community forum to discuss sexting and other related issues will be held at the high school on Feb. 22, at 6:30 p.m.