FARMINGTON — It may have only been intended as innocent flirtation among students, but nude and sexually explicit pictures traded between teens over cell phones has mushroomed into a full-scale criminal investigation, with at least 28 cases now working their way through the Davis County Attorney's Office.

"That's just the tip of the iceberg," Davis County Attorney Troy Rawlings told reporters on Monday. "This is far more widespread than even we know at this point in time. A couple of youngsters have told me everybody's doing it, everybody with a cell phone."

During a news conference at his office, Rawlings and one of his deputies updated the cases that span five junior highs and three high schools in Davis County. It began in January with a police investigation into a group of teenagers taking pictures of their breasts and genitals at Farmington Junior High who were trading them with friends over cell phones. A parent of one student found the pictures and called police.

The investigations reached other schools as authorities said they followed pockets of "kids and cliques." The picture-trading may have been consensual in most cases, but Rawlings said under Utah law it is technically considered child pornography.

"We want kids to know it's illegal," he said. "We want to let parents know that your child might be doing it or receiving it."

Most of the students who have been caught up in the law enforcement investigation will never be formally charged in 2nd District Juvenile Court. Instead, Rawlings said his office has been working with juvenile probation and the teens' parents to reach diversion agreements. Most will have to attend counseling, classes or perform community service. Others could face felony charges of either dealing in materials harmful to a minor or sexual exploitation of a minor in the coming weeks.

The Davis County Attorney's Office has come under criticism for pushing the issue, but Rawlings defended their actions saying that had they done nothing it would have sent a message that it was acceptable behavior. In some cases, the photos were taken in a voyeuristic fashion or were used as exploitation. Some pics memorialized sex acts between teens. The fear is some pictures could wind up on child porn Web sites.

"For the most part, it appears to be a mutual decision to engage in flirtatious behavior," said deputy Davis County Attorney Ron Dunn. "But using.... cell phones, the Internet, raises it to a level of behavior that makes it a felony."

Some parents were horrified when they discovered what was going on, Rawlings said.

"There's a lot of these parents that have taken the cell phones away from their kids, or restricted the cell phones or made the decision that they're not going to have access to text messaging," he said.

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E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com