Prosecutors will not charge a handful of Colorado Springs middle and high school students who were investigated by police .
Lee Richards, spokeswoman for the El Paso County District Attorney’s Office, said Wednesday the case was reviewed and the decision made not to pursue any prosecution.
Richards said the teens involved were encouraged to take a class on the dangers of sexting.
Colorado Springs police earlier this month investigated allegations involving an image shared among students at Pine Creek High School and Challenger Middle School in Academy School District 20.
The case was discovered April 6 by a school resource officer.
Lt. Catherine Buckley, a Colorado Springs police spokeswoman, told The Denver Post last week that fewer than six pupils are believed to have been involved.
“The image that was shared was done so voluntarily,” she added. “There was no coercion.”
The investigation came amid and after lawmakers that would have made the practice a misdemeanor.
The debate began after scores of middle school and high school students in Cañon City were found to have taken and traded nude photos of one another.
Current statutes can hand a teen who sexts a felony child pornography conviction that comes with a mandatory sex offender registration and a potential lifetime criminal record. Since sexting investigations aren’t unusual in Colorado, police and prosecutors say they want more tools to deal with the issue.
Jesse Paul: 303-954-1733, jpaul@denverpost.com or @JesseAPaul
