SELMA — The first incident of what has been commonly referred to as “sexting” was reported on Nov. 23 to the Selma Police Department.

A 16-year-old girl was photographed unknowingly by a 19-year-old man, the image circulated through text messaging, and was eventually sent to the girl’s mother a month after the event, according to the girl’s statement. The mother then reported the incident to police.

The reported incident falls under statute 13A-12-197, the “production of obscene matter containing visual reproduction of a person under 17 years of age.”

This is a local incident, but has the potential to become a federal issue if the image is sent to a place crossing state lines.

Police caution parents to be aware of what their children are seeing and doing on cell phones and the Internet.