The case of five Karns City students who are criminally charged with sexting is both troubling and sad. But it’s also a chance to reflect: is the state doing the right thing when it comes to sexting?

We’re not so sure.

As sexting cases go, the Karns City affair is relatively tame compared to reports of so-called “sexting rings” in other states that involve hundreds of students.

In 2015 Canon City High School in Colorado endured a geunine sexting scandal. Hundreds of students were believed to have shared nude photos with each other using smartphones and so-called “vault” apps which allowed them to hide the pictures from snooping parents.

How widespread is sexting, actually? A 2014 study by researchers from Drexel University found that 54 percent of college students reported sexting as minors. Most, according to the study, were not aware that sexting could have serious legal consequences.

And the pressures on young people — particularly teenage girls — can be tremendous. A Northwestern University study that looked at girls ages 12 to 18 found that 60 percent reported being asked for nude photos.

Sexting might be widespread and “normal” to teens now, but that doesn’t make it any less troubling — especially when it involves children at younger ages. The Karns City case involves a 12-year-old girl.

But here’s a mind-bender for you: if most of the students charged with sexting had been caught having sexual intercourse, their conduct would not have been the subject of a police investigation, criminal charges, or widespread attention in the media. That’s because of the “Romeo and Juliet” exception, and it applies to consensual sexual acts between minors who are at least 13 years old and someone who is less than four years older than the minor.

Why is consensually possessing or sending a nude image illegal for these students when actually having sex is not?

Both data and common sense tells us that, whether or not sexting is criminalized, we cannot prevent it any more than we can prevent teenagers from having sex.

That doesn’t mean we throw up our hands and let children do whatever they want. But we need to start thinking long and hard about Pennsylvania’s current approach to sexting and whether the proverbial juice is worth the squeeze.

In 2012 Gov. Tom Corbett signed laws that make it a summary offense for anyone ages 12 to 17 to possess nude photos of someone in the same age range. Minors who share nude photos of other minors or distribute sexually explicit photos of 12-to-17-year-olds with the intent of bullying, harassing or coercing someone can face more serious misdemeanor charges.

There are numerous problems with using this approach, not the least of which is creating a climate where actual victims of sexting — a boy or a girl who is coerced into sending a nude image, or whose image is distributed to other people — fear to report what’s happened because of the possibility they could face criminal charges.

Doesn’t that fly in the face of what we should be trying to do: protect young people from exploitation and abuse, and give them the tools to make mature choices in an increasingly complex, fast-paced and digitally integrated society?

Remember what it’s like to be a teenager? Their behavior can often be reckless or downright stupid. They like to experiment and take risks, and often believe they are invincible.

Children and teenagers need education, information and limits. But simply criminalizing certain adolesescent behaviors and expecting blind obedience to authority is a recipe for disaster.

Those who coerce teens into sexting, or exploit, distribute and misuse the images shared with them consensually, should face criminal charges.

But the law should distinguish between a consensual exchange and conduct that is coercive and abusive.