JANESVILLE — Sexual predators have a new medium to groom victims: cell phones.
Sexting—the term used to describe sending sexually explicit text messages or nude photos on cell phones—has been part of two recent criminal cases in Rock County.
In Evansville, David L. Ferris, 19, is accused of having “text sex” with an Evansville Middle School student. He is suspected of sending her text messages about kissing and having sex with her.
Ferris, of 120 College Drive, No. 24, Evansville, is suspected of having sex with the teen and another student. He was charged in March with two counts of sexual assault of a child under 16 and one count of exposing a child to harmful descriptions.
In Orfordville, Adam M. Perkins, 36, Beloit, is accused of sending explicit text messages to several eighth-grade students at Parkview Junior High. School officials reported child enticement in February.
Perkins is accused of filming himself having sex with one of the girls. He was charged in March with four counts of sexual assault of a child and four counts of possession of child pornography.
Sexting has become a phenomenon as more teens have cell phones capable of sending sexually explicit messages, photos or videos. The images also can be posted on social networking Web sites such as MySpace and Facebook.
The National Campaign to Support Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy reported that 20 percent of teens have sent sexually explicit text messages. Critics say teens who participate in sexting were more likely to respond to the survey.
Rich Kamholz, a Rock County sheriff’s detective, has investigated cases involving sext messages. He said sexting stems from phone sex, the term used for two people talking about sexual contact on the phone.
Sext messages might describe the acts of undressing each other, touching each other or having sex, Kamholz said.
While sexual predators continue using online social networks and chat rooms to target children, more are using cell phones, he said.
Predators have evolved from offering a child candy, to meeting a child online, to sending sext messages, Kamholz said.
If cell numbers aren’t exchanged, the predators can find the numbers on MySpace or Facebook pages, he said.
The predator then can send sexual text messages to see whether the target responds, he said. It’s easy, instant and takes less courage than face-to-face contact.
Depending on the response, the predator knows whether to continue targeting the girl or move on, Kamholz said.
The messages can be a way to groom victims.
“The danger of the cell phone is that it’s portable, so the child or victim would have the phone with them, and if at any time they get a message from a suspect or perpetrator, they would have that ability to meet without much time in advance,” Kamholz said.
“I don’t believe parents know about this stuff,” he added. “It’s fairly easy for them to engage in this stuff without their parents knowing.”
Tim Hiers, a Janesville police lieutenant, said the police department has not seen cases of sext messages used on children.
The department, however, has seen cases of text or voicemail messages being used to harass people, he said.
Messages can be sexual in nature, Hiers said.
Law enforcement officials agreed sexting is occurring, but the trend is not alarming.
“It’s a problem, but it’s not an epidemic,” Kamholz said. “It’s something they can do when they’re away from home.”
John Pfleiderer, executive director of Family Services of Southern Wisconsin and Northern Illinois, works with sexual assault victims.
He said he is worried about sexting.
Sext messages could increase the likelihood of date rape because they could be viewed as consent to sex or flirting, Pfleiderer said.
Sexting also could lead to emotional abuse when the relationship ends if a person shares nude photos to humiliate the sender, he said.
Exercising control, power and embarrassment is the same behavior seen in many rapists, Pfleiderer said.
“We’re concerned about this cultural phenomenon,” he said.
Parents should discuss cell behavior with children
Parents should talk to their children about appropriate text behavior and the consequences of participating in sexually explicit messaging, officials said.
People should remind their kids that if they send an inappropriate text message or nude photo, they no longer have control over it, said John Pfleiderer, executive director of Family Services of Southern Wisconsin and Northern Illinois.
If a person shares the messages, it can be traumatizing, he said.
“Don’t assume you know exactly where this is going to end up,” Pfleiderer said.
Parents often pay for the cell phone and see the bill, Janesville Police Lt. Tim Hiers said.
They can monitor their child’s cell activity, create rules for the phone and take it away if they want, he said.
Parents also could read their child’s text messages, even though it seems like an invasion of privacy, Rock County sheriff’s detective Rich Kamholz said.
After all, they’re responsible for their kids, he said.
Cell phones also can have text messaging capabilities disabled, Kamholz said.
And parents can restrict cell access, he said.
Meanwhile, kids should ignore sexually explicit messages, Kamholz said.
And they could even reply that they will report the messages to their parents or police, he said.