Teenage boy brags about Facebook porn arrest on Twitter

By Helen A.S. Popkin

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A teenage boy arrested for posting a sexually explicit video of a 14-year-old girl and himself on Facebook boasted about his newfound infamy on Twitter.?

The boy, also 14, of Gloucestershire in the U.K., was "arrested in connection with making and distributing an indecent video and has been given a final warning by police, meaning the incident will remain on his record for the next six years," website This is Gloucestershire (TiG) reported earlier this week. (His name isn't publicized because of his age and the nature of the crime.)

The story hit other local media as well, which the boy made the most of after his release ? posing with a copy of the Gloucestershire Citizen newspaper with the all-caps headline "SCHOOL KIDS IN SEX VIDEO," and posting a photo of himself holding the newspaper story on Twitter.

"I find it hard to fathom that he was apparently allowed access to Twitter, Facebook or any other social media site to brag about his newfound 'fame,' " said the parent who discovered the photo and forwarded it to This is Gloucestershire. (TiG is the online version of the Citizen newspaper.)?

"Inevitably, however, he has also attained some kind of cult status, which, as is evident from the picture posted on Twitter of him holding up a copy of yesterday's Citizen, he seems to be reveling in.

"Sadly, it would appear that arrest and a police warning have done nothing to teach this young man a lesson."

The boy's punishment may seem lax,? but he likely would've fared similarly in the United States. Reports of adolescents being charged with sex crimes for sexting and similar tech-related behavior grab headlines, but a recent study from the Crimes Against Children Research Center notes such cases are the exception.?

"Many of the youth sexting cases that come to the attention of police include aggravating circumstances that raise concerns about health and risky sexual behavior, although some cases were relatively benign," the study found. "Overall, arrest is not typical in cases with no adults involved."

While the Gloucestershire boy won't do jail time, his bragging means it's not the last he'll hear from police.?

"Officers will be speaking to the boy and his father again to make sure he realizes the consequences of his actions and that his Facebook activity is monitored," a police spokesperson told This is Gloucestershire.

One area school, where neither the boy or the girl involved attend, used the incident as a teaching moment for parents, addressing the local scandal in the school newsletter.

"It is very sad that our young people are exposed to such pornography, but as you are aware it is one of the evils of modern technology," wrote Lawrence Montagu, head teacher at St Peter?s High School.

"We simply have to continue educating the young to reap the benefits that modern technology offers but not to fall into the trap of misusing it."

Helen A.S. Popkin goes blah blah blah about the Internet. Tell her to get a real job?on?Twitter?and/or?Facebook. Also,?Google+.

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