As reported by Thomas Morgan in the August 5, 2010 edition of the Providence Journal, Barrington has experienced its first sexting case. "Sexting" is sending sexually explicit photographs or videos by minors through electronic means. A male teenager secretly taped his girlfriend and himself in a sexual encounter. He then showed the tape to other students using his cell phone. When his girlfriend learned what happened, she armed herself with a butter knife. She brought the knife to Barrington High School to use it to convince her boyfriend to erase the tape. The school administrators called Barrington Police to the high school and the police discovered the girl with the knife.
Both teens faced criminal charges as a result of their actions and were sentenced. The boyfriend was charged with disorderly conduct and indecent exposure. As part of his punishment, he must perform 200 hours of community service, he is on probation for a year and he cannot have any contact with the female student. In addition, the teenager is forbidden to have a cell phone that has video or photographic capabilities for the length of his probation. The girlfriend was charged with possession of a weapon on school grounds. She was sentenced to community service.