Mom loses daughter over 'sexting,' demands accountability.

CINCINNATI, OH - More and more teenagers are getting caught "sexting," or sending racy, revealing or nude pictures of themselves on their cell phones. But when that picture gets in the wrong hands, it can be devastating. One local couple says "sexting" cost them their daughter.
Jessie Logan was 18 years old and about to graduate from Sycamore High School when a nude picture she sent to her boyfriend was sent to hundreds of students at schools around the Tri-State.
Last May, Jessie talked to News 5�s Sheree Paolello about how embarrassed and humiliated she was. She said she was being harassed and teased by other students, at home, at school and when she went out.
As she tried to explain what it was like, Jessie broke down crying. "I still get harassed and stuff,� she said. �I just want to make sure no one else will have to go through this same thing."
May 21, 2008: Nude Phone Photos Can Bring Social, Legal Issues For Teens
Jessie was trying to be strong. She wanted to warn other parents and kids. But Jessie's mom, Cynthia Logan, says the teasing turned to torture.
"She was called filthy names, things thrown at her,� said Cynthia. �Every single place she went they knew about that picture, they saw the picture. They knew about the picture! It's abuse. She was abused."
Cynthia says the moment her daughter�s private picture was sent out for everyone to see, things spiraled out of control. Jessie's grades plummeted, she started skipping school and Cynthia says when Jessie would go to school, she would hide in the bathroom to avoid being teased.
Jessie's family and friends knew how much she was struggling to move on but they had no idea how low Jessie had fallen. Two months after Jessie spoke with News 5, she went to the funeral of a boy who had committed suicide. After the funeral, she came home and killed herself.
Eight months later, that horrifying moment was almost unbearable for Cynthia to recall. �And I walked over into her room and saw her hanging. Her cell phone was in the middle of the floor."
Cynthia found her daughter hanging in the closet.
Images: Remembering Jessie Logan
What seemed like high school bullying changed this family forever. The last memory Cynthia has of her petite, blond-haired, blue-eyed, only child is a phone conversation that happened hours before Jessie took her own life.
Cynthia could hardly utter the words. �And she said �I love you madre.� And I said �I love you baby and I'll see you soon.�"
Cynthia and her husband, Albert, say they are heartbroken and angry. They feel like something should have been done. They question why the five teenagers who continued to spread Jessie's picture and harass her were never charged.
"Almost eight months later, my daughter is buried in the ground. Are you kidding me? Where were you?" asked Cynthia as if the authorities were right in front of her.
Since Jessie�s death, authorities have started taking action against �sexting.�
Montgomery police have charged one teenage boy who sent a racy video to other students. And Wednesday, the Warren County prosecutor filed misdemeanor charges against two 15-year-old students at Mason High School, for sending out nude pictures over their cell phones.
The school resource officer at Sycamore said he tried to do something about Jessie�s case. He said he confronted the kids who were harassing Jessie and even took Jessie's case to the prosecutor to see if he could press charges. But he said that because Jessie was 18, there were no laws to protect her. He said he'd like to work with the Logans to have the laws changed.
Cynthia says the fault doesn't only lie with the police, but also with the school.
"To have a nude photo being disseminated throughout the school of your child, how would you feel as a parent?� she asked. �Wouldn't you want other parents to know?"
Adrienne James, the superintendent for Sycamore Schools said letters were not sent out to parents, but that the district did address the cell phone problem at a parent�s night school forum.
James also said no action was taken against the students because some attended school in a different district. She also explained that because Jessie took the picture at home and not on school property, there was little the school could do.
No explanation can comfort Cynthia or her family. She believes Jessie took her life to escape the relentless teasing and feels like the people who were supposed to protect Jessie, failed her.
"The police department didn't protect her. The school didn't protect her. She had no one,� said Cynthia.
Because Cynthia knows she can�t turn back the clock, she wants to change the laws. She says she wants �sexting� to stop and for the people involved to be held accountable.
How To Talk To Your Children About Sexting
Cynthia also wants every parent to know how dangerous this teenage trend is, so that no parent has to find their child the way she did or go on without them the way she must do now.






im extremely confused as to y our culture hates nudity i really am because well nudity is ahem...NATURAL. ok? do you people get it? nudity is. and for you religious people god made us naked. if he made us clothed then we would never be NAKED ok so follow me here ok? when we r born we are naked and then our parents cloth us repeatedly drilling into us that we need clothes to fit in. but hey guess what we are beautiful naked whether u r fat skinny young old short or tall it doesnt matter im just very very confused as to y our culture is not like how god made us even though many of us are like follow gods path y not the nudity thing too? an also about the girl she should have been proud of her body and not cared what others thought of her i mean yes it is hard wen u r bullied repeatedly at school for watever an in middle school i was too not abut this because hell i wouldnot have cared one less but about being a nerd but anyways i took it heard them nodded an said i dont care because it hurt a lil but im not here to please everyone so i could care less what most people think about me nudity is good and natural and bullying is bad and she could hav run away or just not cared wat others thought about her and maybe known that hey that person is makin fun of me sc**w them they are not my real friends and that is wat my take from this articale is anyone else agree?
matt/paulie
2 months agoI do feel pity for the parents of this young woman. But I use "young woman" for a reason. She was 18 years old when she sent this photo to her boyfriend. Kids today want their parents to think that just because they are 18, they are grown adults and know how to make proper decisions about their lives accordingly. Well, this lesson should send a message to all 18 year olds out there that lets them know that just because you are 18, that doesn't mean you are suddenly equipped to make all the right choices for yourself. This young woman did something that she did not see as a mistake waiting to happen, and ultimately she paid for her own mistake. Sad, yes, but not unexpected, considering. Kids today act on feelings and sometimes don't think ahead about the consequences of what their actions will cause. Not to be uncaring in this situation, but perhaps it will take more consequences where kids lose friends to suicide over something like this, before they themselves will grow up. It's about time.
Allan
3 months agoOMG. that is terrible. tbh with you I would never ever send naked pictures of me! That is disgusting. And never ever would I kill myself. Suicide is the worst thing that can happen to someone! The boyfriend was a bit stupid to send pictures of his ex to mates in his school. This news story is very terrifiying but I think sexting is just as stupid as having sex. Its a criminal offence. Some people are so obessed nowadays.
Noneedtoknow
4 months agoSexting is not the problem its how easy the person is mentally minipulated and self-esteem. People always try to find something "else" to blame. Which would be better? Sex or sexting. I will go with sexting. At least they are not out there having sex. Parent try to "protect" their teens so much that it acutally leads them to do worse things.
tiffany
8 months agoCheck out the new Camera Phone Label that parents can use to cover up their kids camera lens on the phone. It is a high security label that is tamper evident and will not leave any glue when it is removed. picpatchlabel.com
PICpatch
11 months agoWhomever you are you are definately a racist. This is evedent in your comments in which you called her a "Tramp", "Whore" and in the tone of you text. My guess is that your children will grow up to be just like you and will proboly join a White Supremace group.
Teenagers make STUPID mistakes. Those who torment them are the ones who should have been punished. That D.A. is correct Teenagers are not protected by the law and they have no rights. I have had first hand experience in this when Tyler P.O. walked into my home with no warrant and took my foster son. When I called to complain I was told that the police could take anyone teen they wanted with only a suspicion against them. They could also enter anyhome without a warrant to do this.
That young lady tried to right a mistake she made. The school resource office tried to help. My question is why the Principal and other administrators decided to do nothing against those who tormented her. There are anti bullying laws on the books and it seems to me that their failure to stop this makes them accomplices as well to the crime.
Teens that make a mistake need support not trash talk sucj as yours. If you jave kids then they will need counseling after your little biased rant.
robert
9 months agoGreat outcome, she need no protection she deserves everything she got. Why is this shame on everyone else and not this tramp who took the photo. Typical women making everyone else pay for their tragic mistakes.
Reminds me of those whores that got caught up with Girls Gone Wild and tried to sue because they were drunk when they did their little deeds.
Screw them, all women are whores and they deserve every single piece of abuse they receive.
JON
11 months agoPerhaps you would be so kind as to repeat your
comments to Lorena Bobbit. She would appreciate
a face to face with you I am sure!! Guys like you
it should be manditory. *talk to the hand butthead....
LauraLoo
10 months agoWow, that is a bit harsh JON. I don't know that I would go as far as that, but I guess it is your opinion and you are entitled to it. Nice name btw.
Jon
11 months agoOK, this is such a heart wrenching tragedy, on so many levels. I've appreciated these posts for their honesty and they're quite telling in how different people see different sides...or issues within an event/tragedy and believe that theirs is the key to understanding it.
Upon first glance it seems that the posters above are very different and 'at odds' with one another- they are not.
Sure bullying is maybe the crux of this issue- I HATE BULLIES. Kids sending pics of themselves naked is NOT the issue here. Hell, being naked is simply not having clothes on (this is a sad American society issue and deserves lengthy discussion, but not here)and wanting to 'show' a friend. Sounds like a natural, lovely and really innocent gesture...and when better to behave this way than when one is young and daring and fit and in the rapture of youth's discoveries?
But Jessie's parents, God love them, did let her down in a way and let us not judge them for this for their grief is something so sacred and so deep I cannot have anything but respect for it. The answer here is to immediately put out that which fans the flames of stupidity, bullying, self-righteous sneering etc...by letting your child know how beautiful they are: dressed, half-dressed, undressed, whatever and that this "huge deal" that seems like the end of the world right now is trivial...in fact it's less than trivial it should be (the photos themselves) be celebrated. GET IT? Tell your child that you love them and that this shouldn't be embarrassing because hell, you wish you still looked that good and you know they didn't mean for all these idiots to see the pics and there's nothing wrong w/ your bf at 18 seeing them and really there's nothing "wrong" w/ the whole world seeing them as long as you're ok with it...because you love yourself Jessie, we love you Jessie and under all of our clothes we're all naked and naked is not dirty- it's not ugly and it's not bad. Sure your behavior was in sending them over a cell phone was unfortunate because some idiot might get a hold of it (Paris Hilton et al) but you are a GOOD PERSON and we, the most important people in your life really could care less!! SO WHAT. There are coffee table books full of nudity...classical art of innumerable nudity...every celeb is caught naked by the paparazzi every other week NAKED. This wasn't salacious, lewd, perverted...hell it was the opposite!! A beautiful 18 year old woman confident, flirty and proud and now she is dead and for what!? Anyone who believes that this should be charged and convicted as "child pornography" is sick and perverted themselves and because so many in the 'system' do in fact call this exactly that and want to turn an innocent, lovely gesture into a dirty, base crime, a FELONY...all I can say is you should be ashamed at how screwed up you've become and what a sick way you see the world that to castigate you would be pointless because your tragedy is having to live inside that sad little world you inhabit.
Jessie was NOT a child, nor a pornographer- she was a young woman and she did NOTHING WRONG, and everyone who loved her should have told her so and thus to have loved at this tempest in a teapot- our ridiculous preoccupation w/ epidermis in this country and how much we hate bullies and authority figures that call good-people, criminals. Idiots.
Scott Anodam
13 months agoPost new comment