Case involving 20 boys highlights sexting epidemic

HUNDREDS of children, some as young as nine, are sexting pictures of themselves in the nude in an epidemic which involves some of South Africa's most prominent schools.

Done to dominate or seek acceptance, the country's child sexting scourge came to the fore when photographs of 20 Pretoria high school boys went viral this week after they were posted on Twitter through a fake account.

But it is not the first or the worst.

Yesterday, cyber forensic experts said they had dealt last month with a case involving more than 200 Grade 11 Johannesburg pupils who had either sent or received naked images of themselves and their classmates.

"It's nothing but child abuse. The pictures being taken, sent and received are disturbing, increasingly violent and incredibly explicit," cyber forensic expert Danny Myburgh said.

He warned that it was getting worse. "The majority of images distributed through sexting are from the internet, then selfies and then children photographing each other in compromising sexual positions.

"In the last month, we have received three cases of mass sexting involving Pretoria and Johannesburg schools.

"This case [of the 20 children], which we're dealing with, is not the worst.

"We have a case where the entire class of a Johannesburg high school is involved. It involves more than 200 children.

"Sexting and extortion, which often comes with it, is increasing, with each case becoming worse in content.

"Those involved simply don't realise the implications of their actions. Taking, distributing and possessing such images is criminal. It's child porn."

Social media law expert Emma Sadlier said cases such as the 20 boys were definitely increasing.

"I receive at least three [such cases] weekly, often involving children as young as nine.

"This case highlights the reputational risks of South Africa's sexting epidemic.

"Its clear our children are being failed. They are given powerful tools [cellphones] yet no one gives them the knowledge on how to stay safe. It's terrifying."

Arthur Goldstuck, a social media expert, said to describe what was happening to South Africa's children merely as "sexting" trivialised the horrendous abuse children endured.

"Social media is a tool in this abuse. It's not what leads to the abuse.

"The dramatic increase in access to smart cellphones, added with huge levels of experimentation and the functionality of the cellphones, results in the existing high levels of abuse being captured and becoming more visible.

"Blaming social media is to wash one's hands of the initial crime – child abuse."

Myburgh said the speed at which technology was reaching people was driving such cyber crimes.

"Radio reached 50 million people in 38 years, TV in 13, the internet in four and Facebook in three, while cellphone apps take 50 days to reach 50 million people," he said. - Graeme Hosken