Lori Higgins

Detroit Free Press

The Oakland County Sheriff%27s department is investigating sexting among 31 students

A defense attorney says she represents a student in a separate sexting case in Romeo

The Oakland County students would likely be charged as juveniles

It could be a few weeks before more than 30 Rochester Community Schools students learn whether they'll face felony charges for sending and sharing inappropriate pictures of themselves or other minors.

It's one of two sexting cases that have hit the news recently. A defense attorney says her client is among about 6-10 students in Romeo being investigated for sexting.

The Oakland County Sheriff's Department has been investigating the case involving the Rochester students since first receiving a report in mid-September.

"Our computer crimes unit is doing ... a forensic examination," said Capt. Mike Johnson of the sheriff's department.

The case involves 30 students at Rochester Adams High School and one student at nearby Van Hoosen Middle School, Johnson said. Shannon Smith, a Bloomfield Hills attorney who specializes in sex crimes cases, is representing one of the Rochester students and one of the Romeo students.

The case unfolded in Rochester, she said, "because some of the boys were collecting photos."

"They were asking girls to text them nude photos. The girls were cooperating and then the boys were trading the pictures — giving them to other people," she said. "There were a lot of girls that were sending photos and it just got out of control."

Johnson said the sexting was brought to the attention of school officials after one student heard another student discussing it.

"They found out one of their friends might be a victim of this and convinced the victim to notify school officials. They notified the school liaison officer," Johnson said.

Officials with the Michigan State Police, who weren't available for comment, are investigating a similar incident that involved students at Romeo High School in Macomb County.

"The investigation is still ongoing," said Eric Whitney, assistant superintendent for Romeo Community Schools. "It's in the hands of the Michigan State Police and because of privacy issues, we don't have a lot of information to give."

The Rochester students could face charges related to the creation, solicitation, distribution or possession of sexually explicit material, said Paul Walton, chief assistant prosecutor for the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office. If charged as adults, the students could face prison sentences that range from four years to 20 years.

But all of them are under the age of 16, Johnson said. And Walton said it's more likely they'd be charged as juveniles. The charges still would be felonies, but punishment would be handled differently, Walton said.

When Oakland County Prosecutor Jessica Cooper was elected in 2008, she began a program in which she visits middle schools and high schools in the county to talk to students and parents about things like sexting and cyberbullying. So far, she's given more than 100 presentations, Walton said.

The idea? Help students understand the ramifications. Often, Walton said, students will start deleting pictures while they're listening to the presentation.

Cooper has done the presentation in the Rochester district, including at Van Hoosen Middle, Walton said. And district officials say they made other efforts to educate students about such issues.

"We've tried to do an instructional campaign with our kids. We have social media courses where we talk about all kinds of things kids should be wary of," said Debra Hartman, spokeswoman for Rochester Community Schools.

Contact Lori Higgins: 313-222-6651, lhiggins@freepress.com or @LoriAHiggins