NESHAMINY, Pa. – Eight students at Neshaminy High School in Pennsylvania face criminal charges after a three-month investigation into sexual images of students shared with others at the school.

The teens, who were not identified, received summary citations to be handled by the Bucks County Youth Aid Panel, “a community-based diversion program for nonviolent offenders,” according to The Allentown Morning Call, but authorities are releasing few details on the case because minors are involved.

“The sexual texts were first reported to school officials by students who saw the inappropriate photos on classmates’ phones in the school, said district spokesman Chris Stanley in a statement released Oct. 31, 2014,” NBC reports.

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Many students at the school received and or shared the sexts, but school officials are unsure where the photos originated, Stanley said.

The investigation was aided by Principal Rob McGee, who posted a message to the school’s website requesting that parents check their child’s phone for the app Yik Yak, which was apparently used to share the images. McGee also offered instructions for parents on how to check what their children have posted, NBC reports.

Bucks County prosecutor Michele Walsh told The Morning Call all of the students charged in the case are under the age of 18.

“A 2012 Pennsylvania law makes it a crime for anyone under 18 to share or transmit nude images of anyone between the ages of 12 and 17, including self-portraits, commonly called ‘selfies,’” the news site reports.

“Even if an exchange is consensual, potential criminal charges can apply to both the sender and receiver.”

The charges in Neshaminy follow a similar incident in Bristol Township, where a 13-year-old student is expected to face charges for distributing a sexually explicit video to her classmates that appears to depict two minors engaging in sexual activity, possibly incest, according to media reports.

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Walsh told ABC the Neshaminy case shows that teens sharing explicit images “is not something to fool around with,” because the consequences could be serious.

“They could range from anything that you could get in juvenile court from probation to placement outside the home depending on the nature of the case itself,” she said.

The bottom line: “If you take that, you share it, expect the world to see it and know that it could be in violation of the law if you do,” Walsh told ABC.

The online reaction to the charges in Neshaminy is mixed.

“Aren’t they over-reacting a bit?” Mr. Cranky posted to ABC.

Poster PhillyflavaVI believes there’s more schools could do to crack down on this type of inappropriate activity.

“May they all got cell phones!” PhillyflavaVI wrote. “Back in my day it was a note, pass it over. But this is why technology should be reined in at schools. (Schools) need a little box for your cell phone – you get it at lunch and when you leave.”