School, government and family planning officials thought they had enough on their hands either keeping teens from having sex or encouraging them to have safe sex.
Now a new, dark and potentially dangerous element has been added to the mix - that of digital and Internet technology that allows teens to film themselves or other teens doing all manner of sexual acts in a form that is easily uploaded to the Web and therefore easily and quickly accessed by millions of eyes.
This trend has the possibility of destroying not only reputations but lives and also impinging on the well-being of anyone connected with the individuals filmed.
Child pornography - the creation and exchange of sexual footage featuring minors - is also, of course, a crime.
The most recent example is the leaking of the video of two young students of the Fatima College performing sex acts on each other in their uniform on what appears to be the school compound.
The principal of the school, Fr. Gregory Augustine, said quite commendably that the school intends to deal with the boys with compassion.
But beyond that the question that school and others must ask themselves is what must be done when the weapons of both sex and digital technology are held together in young and therefore very likely careless hands.
Even as the Fatima scandal was still swirling, there were rumours of new teen sex tape leaks. And a few others had been circulating prior to the Fatima tape.
For the past few years, schools and parents in the United States have been grappling with the phenomenon of sexting - young people sharing sexually explicit images of themselves via cell phone.
A survey found almost 20 per cent of American teens admitting to the practice. In 2008, an 18-year-old from Ohio was teased mercilessly at school following the distribution of nude images she'd sent her boyfriend before they broke up.
She eventually committed suicide. Last year, three teen girls and three boys in Pennsylvania were arrested for exchanging pictures of the girls, who were 14 and 15.
With the widespread use of smart phones among teens in Trinidad and Tobago, it may only be a matter of time before sexting and its attendant problems become issues here.
Another global phenomenon knocking at our door is the posting of suggestive pictures of themselves by users of Facebook, MySpace and other social media that enjoy widespread popularity young people.
These potentially taxing problems should be tackled head on.
Education and family planning officials should meet to map out a strategy for dealing with the Pandora's box opened by digital technology.
A number states in the US have instituted laws to curb sexting, but these laws have been criticised for putting the young people guilty of it on the permanent registry that includes dangerous sex offenders.
Trinidad and Tobago may not have to go as far as legislation. Sensible solutions could include an education campaign about the repercussions of abuse of digital technology and the incorporating of the role of technology in sex ed classes or discussions.
Punishing and holding up for vilification the students who may or may not have been willing participants in the filming of themselves in a sex tape would not be helpful.
Students have to be sensitised about the need to guard themselves against the risk of exploitation and shame in this new era where a life can be shattered in the time it takes to click a mouse.
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