Teen Accused Of Stealing Phone, Sexting
By Carl Willis
POSTED: Wednesday, March 10, 2010
UPDATED: 12:12 pm CST March 10, 2010
HOUSTON -- A 14-year-old girl is facing charges in Montgomery County, accused of stealing a cell phone and then using it to send nude photos of herself, KPRC Local 2 reported Tuesday.
The teenager was arrested in Oak Ridge North and police said the photos she took and sent to several boys led them right to her.
Police said the victim's phone was missing for two days after it was taken from a clinic.
They said she only found out how it was being used after she checked her account online.
Larry Trailer is a parent and a grandparent. He said times have changed since he had to look after teenagers.
"The kids today, texting is everything," Trailer said.
It may be everything, but police said it's also what landed the girl in hot water.
Oak Ridge North police officers said the girl was at the Maternal & Family Clinic off I-45 North when she stole another patient's cell phone.
Police said it wasn't just the theft, but the nude photos they said she took with the cell phone that alarmed investigators. They said the pictures were pornographic.
"We later found out that she was then sending those photos to some boyfriends of hers," Det. Sgt. Kent Hubbard of the Oak Ridge North Police Department said.
Police said they were able to track the girl down using some of the few fully clothed pictures she took.
"We took those photos around to some of the local schools and were able to identify her," Hubbard said.
Police said the victim learned about the cell phone use after checking her account online. They said the victim found the pictures and noticed that money from her bank account was transferred to the victim's cell phone account. Police said the teen did not get any of the money herself.
Police discovered that the teen was already on probation for a felony level theft.
They said the teen is facing theft charges. They said they would not pursue "sexting" charges.
"We took the case to the county attorney's office who handles juvenile charges and we were told because of current state law we were told that they would just rather not get into that at this point in time," Hubbard said.
The victim in this case did not want to interview with KPRC. Police said she told them that she hopes this trouble that this girl is in will help her turn her life around.
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