But there's nothing quite like the image of your child on a registry of sex offenders to concentrate the parental mind. It now has a catchy new label, but "sexting" has been around, as a prank and a problem, for years: in 2004 a 15-year-old Pittsburgh, Pa., girl was charged with sexual abuse of children and dissemination of child pornography when she posted nude pictures of herself online.

There also are concerns about texting while driving, text-bullying and "sexting," or the term for adolescents messaging naked photos of themselves or others. What might have been intended for a friend can be widely distributed, and the texting of lewd photographs of minors can lead to criminal charges.

A telling aspect of his sexual farragos is the use of his mobile for sexting (texting).

Although "kiss and sell" newspaper accounts must always be treated with caution, there is a suspiciously similar theme to the sexts.