Authorities in Virginia are investigating a "sexting ring" involving hundreds of underage teenage girls on an Instagram account, ABC News reported.
The investigation, which involves students in middle schools and high schools across the state, launched once a woman reported suspicious activity on her daughter's Instagram page late last month.
"Some guys made up an Instagram page, and they got naked pictures from all these girls, and they started posting them on the Instagram page," Kayla McNutt, a student at Louisa County High School, told WRIC-TV. "I've seen the page, and there are like 13 naked girls on there."
With the assistance of Instagram, sheriffs were able to take action against the account -- which included thousands of photos and videos of naked teens.
Though the photos were explicit, they were all taken and uploaded consenually, the Louisa County chief deputy said. The ages of the teens ranged from 14 to 17.
Officials also confiscated at least 25 phones from teens who somehow received or saw the pictures. Among the students who had their phone taken away -- which then underwent a forensics investigation -- was McNutt.
"They came to me and took my phone too," McNutt said. "They're trying to figure out who started the page."
Authorities and parents alike are both hoping that their children will learn from incidents like this and understand the dangers of social media.
"I've talked to my daughter before and said, 'Don't ever do it, no matter who asks, no matter what,'" parent Lori Lyons said. "I hope they learn how dangerous it is to do and how it can get into the wrong people's hands. ... They'll never do it again, hopefully."
According to the deputy, the teens are not likely to face charges in the "sexting ring." The schools are also not directly involved in the investigation since none of the photos or videos were taken during school hours.
