“Believe me, they’re making some huge mistakes, ethical mistakes, but you have to come up with other solutions.” Michael Ramos, president of the National District Attorney’s Association

Michael Ramos, president of the National District Attorneys Association, said that in places where the law hasn’t caught up with technology, it’s rare for a minor to come away with a felony on his record. The consequences are usually lessened to misdemeanors, probation time, educational diversion programs or community service. In a 2013 survey of state prosecutors who had filed charges in sexting cases involving juveniles, 16 percent resulted in the defendant being registered as a sex offender. Just 4 percent led to a criminal trial.

“You’re dealing with young teens, people who don’t have criminal intent. Believe me, they’re making some huge mistakes, ethical mistakes, but you have to come up with other solutions,” Ramos said.

Depending on the nature of the charges, Ramos said, one key factor in a prosecution would be whether the boy had “intent to harm” the girls whose pictures he showed — something that can be difficult to prove without the participation of the girls themselves. Because coming forward means that they, too, could face at least the theoretical risk of charges. Although they took photos of their own bodies, in a technical sense, they have produced child pornography.

Until it’s sorted out, the boy will remain in school. Administrators purposefully kept him in separate classes from Maureen and Taylor. But his former girlfriend rarely comes to school anyway; after more than a year of counseling and therapy, her parents say, she still hasn’t recovered.

In summer, Maureen lives in another world, where there is no boy, no girls who stare at her, no one who can see the thin scar lines on her forearms. It exists on her iPad, in an online gaming community called Minecraft.

She started playing it regularly in the first few weeks of ninth grade, when she realized that even though she was in a new school, the people were the same. To them, she was the same.

“It’s not even brought up anymore,” she says. “It’s just like, oh, that’s [Maureen], nobody talks to her.”

But in Minecraft, they call her Queen. And Mom. The game is made up of many tiny worlds where players can unite on teams to build places completely their own. In the summer, Maureen can be in her world anytime she wants. At cheerleading camp, on the bleachers of her sister’s softball games, in the car when her dad is listening to songs she rolls her eyes at. She founded her own team, and now there are more than 120 players from every corner of the world who know her. They look to her for guidance, in the game and in life.

The rules of their Minecraft world are that no one is allowed to swear or call anyone names.

“People come there because nobody can get hurt, or you’ll get banned,” Maureen says.

If one of her team members gets bullied, it’s Maureen who gets to report it.

“If there’s a problem, like drama or something, people come to me,” she says. “And I’ll solve it.”

Last week, summer ended. She started the 10th grade. She went back to the halls where every day, she passes him. But after school, she can escape again, to the place where no one has seen her undressed and she is always in control.