TEXHOMA — Three men have been charged with the possession and distribution of obscene images of an underage girl, a Panhandle prosecutor said. He also said he isn’t sure punishments fit the alleged crime.

Eduardo Cisneros, 18, Diego Guzman, 18, and Cruz Holguin, 19, were charged in Texas County on July 16 with distributing nude photos of a 17-year old girl by phones and email, the prosecutor said.

“It’s a crime, and it needs to be addressed,” Texas County District Attorney Michael Boring said.

“But the only option is to charge them with possessing obscene materials and child pornography.”

There are no state laws that specifically address underage “sexting”- related crimes, he said.

Child porn-related convictions would result in the men having felony records. They also would be required to register as sex offenders for the rest of their lives.

“It goes from stepping off a curb to jumping off a cliff,” Boring said. “We want to find an appropriate punishment.”

The three men told investigators the girl’s boyfriend at the time had the photos on his cell phone during the summer of 2009. They were brought to the attention of investigators in May after a worker at a Texhoma grocery store saw Guzman showing off the nude images to co-workers.

Guzman reportedly told investigators he kept the photos on his computer and had received them from Cisneros.

Holguin is accused of forwarding the images from Cisneros’ cell phone and to other friends.

The boyfriend told investigators he had no knowledge the images were forwarded.

A friend had borrowed his cell phone and apparently sent the images out to friends, an arrest affidavit states.

During the investigation, law enforcement officers found other friends who had been sent photos of the girl.

One had explicit photos of different teenage girls.

“I’m hoping the message gets out there to kids,” said Boring, who said he’s prosecuted three sexting cases over the past several years. “This is serious stuff, and there are serious consequences.

“I can’t imagine this isn’t happening everywhere,” he said.

The issue is a subject of debate in other states and has resulted in laws being changed across the country, said Linda Terrell, executive director of the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy.

“I think this is the next evolution of our society having to deal with technology,” Terrell said.

“We don’t want to excuse it, but we want to make sure the law is serving its purpose.”

Although the three men were charged as adults, sexting often is associated with juveniles.

This year, lawmakers in 16 states introduced or considered legislation aimed at sexting, according to information from the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Lawmakers in Oklahoma this year considered a bill that would have modified penalties for sexting. The bill died in committee.

Lawmakers in 10 states have passed laws pertaining to sexting and the distribution of sexually explicit photos by cell phone since 2009.

Many state laws made the crimes misdemeanor offenses or less severe felonies. The laws also addressed educating youth about the consequences of sexting.