NAMPA -- Sexting. It's a disturbing trend gaining popularity among children and teens.
And get this. A national survey suggests it involves one in every four kids.
"You wouldn't believe how many kids I know at school that are doing it to boyfriends, girlfriends, all kinds of people, kids they like," said Kaleesha Simms.
That thing they're doing -- sending naked and inappropriate pictures of themselves from their cell phones.
Sometimes it's to people they know. Sometimes complete strangers.
But in a case out of Canyon County last year a classmate pretended to be someone else.
What followed was humiliation and criminal charges.
It was a letter any teen would be thrilled to get.
Sadie Coons certainly was -- a secret admirer told her she was gorgeous, and that he wanted to love to her forever.
Sadie didn't know who he was, but she was eager to find out.
"There was a number on it, I texted that number asking who it was and everything. And this person came back and said it was a guy named Darian," said Sadie Coons.
Over the next week, Sadie and Darian texted back and forth.
A bond quickly formed, which is the only way she can explain why she agreed to what came next: Darian asked her to send him a nude picture of herself.
Without having met her secret admirer, Sadie took the photo and sent it as a text message to Darian's phone.
"It was topless, had her face in it and no bra. It was a nude picture," said Kaleesha Simms.
"Darian" turned out to be Nampa High classmate Kaleesha Simms, who thought it would be a big joke to forward Sadie's topless picture on to her friends.
Within a half hour, the photo went viral -- most of the student body had it, someone even put it on the Web.
When Sadie realized what had happened -- she hid in a school bathroom.
"I cried for an hour basically in that restroom, not wanting to come out because I was so embarrassed," said Sadie Coons. "After that, it was crazy from there. Hiding in a bathroom stall for almost an hour and a half, almost two hours, crying embarrassed and disgusted of myself."
What had happened was a crime, and what Kaleesha considered a prank, authorities call "sexting."
Police arrested her and and took her straight to juvenile detention.
"I was mad and upset. And you know just being selfish like why I am being arrested? I still didn't get the point that this is serious," said Kaleesha Simms. "At the time I didn't really think it was fair but it is. Because now that I've done my research I know that it's not just a picture."
In fact, Sadie's picture was child pornography. Not only was Kaleesha in possession of it, she was also distributing it. Both are felonies.
If convicted of either crime you must register as a sex offender.
The prosecutor working the case knew he was dealing with a teen who still had her entire life ahead of her.
"And that's something we've tried to balance. Is it worth, is it something we want to label these kids and mark them with that stigma for the rest of their life. Is it truly something that they maliciously intended in a sexually and deviant manner," said Bryan Taylor of the Canyon County Prosecutor's Office.
Kaleesha got lucky. She was convicted of only a misdemeanor.
The charge: dissemination of material harmful to minors.
Canyon County prosecutors thought her conviction would be a warning to other teens who don't think sexting is serious.
But it may take more than that.
Kaleesha Simms hopes kids will listen to her story.
She now speaks to youth groups about sexting. You would think hearing her experience would scare kids straight.
"When I was arrested it really made everyone stop and think twice, but only for that little while," said Kaleesha. "Even my closest friends that were there through all of this, they're still doing it. It's like where have you been?"
Both Sadie's and Kaleesha's lives have changed dramatically, and they want other teens to know that sexting is a gamble you don't want to take.
"You have a voice, say no. I had a chance to say no and I'm sympathetic. I just wouldn't do it over again," said Sadie.
"Don't do it. Don't do it whether it's your picture, someone else's picture, it doesn't matter. There's always that risk. Once you send that button, you can't take it back," said Kaleesha.
And for parents -- they have this message.
Parents should check their kids phones almost on a weekly basis just to make sure they're not doing this," said Sadie.
Both girls say they've learned from their mistakes, yet continue to deal with the fall out from their experience.
Sadie still goes to Nampa High, and says some students continue to taunt her about the picture.
For her conviction, Kaleesha was sentenced to five days in juvenile detention and 18 months of probation.
Now, sexting is considered a fairly new phenomenon.
Because of that, it's been a challenge for law enforcement and schools to get a handle on it.
Thursday, join us for another report on what these agencies are doing to stop it in our high schools, junior highs and even elementary schools.
