Cops Bust Teen 'Sexting' Ring Involving Over 100 Teenagers in Virginia

A teenage sexting ring was busted in Virginia after law enforcement officials discovered more than 1,000 compromising photos and videos of mostly young girls between the ages of 14 and 17 years old on Instagram.

Over 100 teens in six different counties in Central Virginia were involved in the sexting ring, sharing nude and semi-nude pictures of minors on social media. Although sharing explicit photos of underage teens is charged as distributing child pornography and a felony in Virginia, it's likely that no charges will be filed against the teen suspects.

"Our goal is not to go out and label 100-plus teenagers as sex offenders," Maj. Donald Lowe of the Louisa County Sheriff's Office told NBC News. "What we really want to do is bring this issue to parents' attention."

It's unknown how many of the teens were sharing photos and posting them. Teens involved in the ring were posting photos on Instagram and labeling them with specific hashtags so that their friends could find them. In some cases, people were required to submit naked photos of themselves before being given a hashtag.

Instagram cooperated and took down the offending accounts, said Maj. Lowe. According to its policy, "Accounts found sharing nudity or mature content will be disabled and your access to Instagram may be discontinued."

"I think if people thought for a minute and didn't do that, they'd save themselves a lot of grief ... They're having fun but I can tell you colleges and universities, agencies who hire people, including us, look for those things and those are not going to be positive if they're found in a kids' past," Goochland Sheriff Jim Agnew told WWBT-TV.

The Louisiana County Sheriff's Office is currently examining 35 devices to gather more evidence. There's a high chance that officials will charge an adult that is discovered to have received or posted photos of underage teens.