Here is one for my under 30 years of age readers. I am looking for comments (and enlightenment). I will give my view in a later post. According to an article in the New York Times, a 14 year old girl in New Jersey was arrested for child pornography because she posted a sexually explicit picture of herself on MySpace. In response to the number of criminal charges being brought against minors for “sexting,” several states have passed legislation removing this conduct from felony status. A federal court of appeals recently prevented a Pennsylvania prosecutor from bringing child pornography charges against some 12 and 13 year old girls who took some risqué photos at a slumber party. It seems that teenagers like to take and send photos of themselves in various states of undress. The problem is possessing and distributing these photos is considered child pornography in many states – a felony, with jail time, and the obligation to register as a sex offender. Clearly, the lawmakers did not anticipate this new trend. It also appears that there is a wide range of “sexting” activities from sexually suggestive to explicit.
Essentially, there are three situations which need to be addressed when those under 18 engage in the following activities: (1) posting or sending a sexually explicit photo of yourself to someone under the age of 18, (2) posting or sending a photo of yourself and another person which is sexually explicit, and (3) republishing a sexually explicit photo that someone else sent you privately. Do any of these activities warrant a felony charge? Do any warrant a misdemeanor charge? Should any be addressed in the juvenile justice system? Should any be decriminalized? How should these situations be handled from a legal perspective?
If adults (18+) can create adult pornography then why don’t they get charged for taking explicit pictures and producing porn? If teens (17 & under) are producing “child porn” or “teen porn” then why are they getting in trouble for producing it for their age group?
In my opinion, teens or kids should not face the same consequences as adults because they are too harsh for them. However, something could be done to make teens/kids more aware of this illegal “sexting” which is being considered child porn. Teens/kids are hyper, filled with growing hormones, don’t have fully developed prefrontal lobes (brains) and are not always aware of what they are doing.
I am in agreement with Adrian on this one. Teens don’t fully know what they are doing or what the short and long-term consequences are. US institutions have always (with some exceptions) shown more leniency towards minors. The recent legislation changes removing this crime from felony status is the right course of action if only for minors.
I agree that children are not completely aware of the consequences to what they are doing as compared to adults. But there is a line that children know they are crossing. Another difference to take into consideration is children who publicly post these pictures online (myspace, facebook, etc.) and children who privately send these pictures to each other through text messages. In my opinion I think that both are wrong, but that does not mean i want the government stepping in to monitor every picture message being sent electronically.
I agree with the previous comments, I dont feel that the adult consequence to such actions should apply to children uner 18 as well. I think the consequence should be harsh enough to make them realize what they are doing is not acceptable by law and is not considered appropriate, especially for their age group. The consequences should punish them by depriving them of things that are important to them, and which also provides some type of educational base which helps them understand why the laws are written in such a way.
I agree with the above comments. What these kids do is stupid, not criminal. There should be penalties for sexting, harsh ones too for those who actually cause the leak of the picture, but only so far as to get these children to understand how serious this matter is.
I agree with the last comment, but I believe that these kids understand what they are doing. If they have the intelligence to take a almost nude picture, or risque picture of themselves, and they are intentionally sending it to someone else, then they know what they are doing. Kids don’t just ACCIDENTALLY send photos like that. Also, if this is really a problem on the rise, than instead of charges being brought against these teens there should be a form of knowledge forced upon teens at a young age, just like drugs and sex. As for Myspace, there needs to be a stronger filter with photos that are uploaded to solve this problem with teens putting up sexually explicit photos. I feel a misdemeanor charge would be a good idea for the minors, and a mandatory group meeting or class that will instruct them on how to be safe and not represent themselves negatively.
I do not agree that “sexting” should result in a felony charge. I think that there should be a small consequence for people that are taking pictures and sending it to people because kids know that pictures with nudity do not stay secret for a long time. Also, I think that there should be a misdemeanor charge for people that post pictures on facebook or myspace because there are posting the pictures to the public where anyone can view the pictures.
Opening Thought: Teenage sexting is stupid and immature, but not criminal. Adolescence is an awkward time of curiosity and discovery. As discussed earlier in the semester, most adolescents do things that are sometimes foolish or questionable, and these outlandish behaviors can be attributed to a lack of a fully developed frontal lobe.
Seeing how it is children voluntary photographing and publishing photos of themselves, I would expect the defense would be “infancy,” and the kids get a less (if any) punishment. The real blame should be on the parents, because they are providing their children with the tools to make CP, and have it published.
Side Note: Chances are there is CP of everyone. Yes everyone. Pretty much everyones parents have naked baby pictures of them somewhere. It could be probably be found in the photo-album titled “Me Being Born,” “My First Bath,” “OMG THE CHICKEN-POX ARE EVERYWHERE!!!!,” you get the idea. What makes these nude child pictures unlike the ones discussed in the case above, is the probability that none of us gave our parents consent to take such photographs, have the photos published and then shown to an appreciable amount of people. What are the real factors to CP? At what age does “CP” change from being a cute-joke to a felony with jail time and obligation to register as a sex-offender?
Side Suggestion: If person A and person B want to look at each others XYZ, that’s fine, there is really no way to stop them. A battle to put an end to adolescent sexual curiosity and sexual activity would be a hard one to win. The responsible thing to do would be to inform teenagers of the consequences to sexting, in hopes they will make responsible decisions. That way if person A decides they want person B to see their XYZ, they will do the right thing and show them in person. That there is no “paper trail” or evidence of the action, and everyone wins.
Personally, I think that teens do need to get in trouble for posting sexually explicit pictures online. However, I do not think that the consequence should be a felony; rather, something similar to what others have said perhaps handled at a juvenile justice system that requires mandatory education about how serious the consequences are. Teen girls are especially at risk for being involved in taking explicit pictures because when you look around in magazines and even on social networking sites, it is the explicit or sexual pictures that get the most attention, and most girls at that age are wanting more than anything to be noticed and appear like a woman rather than a child.
I think it is unfortunate how this “sexting” craze has caught on because in the long run there will be many young girls who are caught in compromising situations that effect the present and their future.
As I see it, texting is a private conversation between two individuals which should not be monitored by the government (hello? free speech, anyone?). This new “sexting” phenomenon should be protected as long as it has not become public information. I believe it is the responsibility of parents to monitor cell phone use privately, where punishments should be of their own discretion.
A new issue arrises with the exchange of sexually explicit photos. If a child is old enough to bear a cell phone, they should be socially competent enough to take responsibility for their action. However, felony charges brought against children of 12 and 13 years of age is blasphemy. New punishments need to be established; ones whose consequences will not ruin opportunities for these children in the future.
Right on.
First, I want to say that teen “sexting” is irresponsible and stupid, and it is a horrible pun. Certainly there is a more creative term that can be used to describe this activity. I had to get that off my chest.
My guess is that the teens taking and sending these photographs are merely experimenting or trying to impress members of the opposite sex. This activity is unsafe and careless, but certainly not criminal. Teens sending nude pictures of themselves to their significant others are not peddlers of child pornography, and a court system which prosecutes them as such is severely mistaken. These kids need knowledge and counseling, not a jail sentence and a title of “sex offender.”
This is one of the most ridiculous things I’ve heard in a while. I understand that there are some ‘producers’ of child pornography out there that are under 18 but, not that I am condoning these activities, girls sending risque pictures to men (as long as they are under 18 as well) should possibly be examined in a few cases but many are harmless and simply an exploration of being a teen and understanding one’s sexuality.
Absolutely not, under the age of 18 or in some cases 17 is a juvenile and therefore no criminal charges should be brought against them. There is a fine line though. Adults are able to produce and distribute pics of themselves w/o penalty. Why should a juvenile be charged when doing the same act. Now, I can understand if the underage offender was knowingly distributing more than one photo to many persons or created a public source (Internet) that made viewing of pics avaliable to the public, but even then they should be charged as a juvenile.
I do not believe the child should be criminally prosecuted. A way of handling this could be to create a program to inform the students of their wrongdoings, such as the puberty videos I had to see in elementary school.
These programs stepped in and decided to take over for the parents. Perhaps this would be the best for both parties and if it continues to happen, just a civil case I believe would be justifiable.
I agree with Nan. My personal opinion is that people should be allowed to do what they want to do with their body, as long as they are not interfering with the rights of others. There are more important issues in the world that need to be addressed than concerning yourself with the lives of the young and naive. If two teenagers are dating or flirting and choose to send EACH OTHER pictures of themselves between THEIR phones, I honestly don’t see how that affects anyone else but the two parties involved. However, I know of many cases in high school where naive girls sent jocks pictures of themselves intended for their eyes only, and “somehow” the photos end up becoming schoolwide entertainment. I believe in cases like these, legal action should take place, but to have them register as a sex offender is a bit absurd. I don’t think it’s anyone’s right to redistribute a photo sent to them by someone else under the pretense that it would be for their eyes only. I think as long as the pictures are between two teens, then let it be. No one thinks twice about the distribution of Playboy magazines or Sport Illustrated calendars. In society today, young girls are exposed to the abundant supply of suggestive pictures that their “idols” take, and the picture perfect half naked girls they see flung over the sides of cars in their favorite rappers music video. They have it instilled in their minds that sex sells. As a teenager, all anyone really wants is acceptance, and they have chosen a path that society has paved for them. I don’t see how anyone can really say sexting is a criminal act. Stupid? Maybe. But a felony? Far from it. I do think that schools and parents should make sure their child is aware of the consequences becoming involved in sexting might have, but to arrest teenagers on accounts of being distributors of child porn is ridiculous.
I have to agree with the majority on this one. Children are unaware of how dangerous this behavior is and the reasons why there are laws against it in the first place is to protect children. Therefore, punishing children with felonies for such actions seems to be counterproductive. Instead steps should be taken to prevent it from happening again and should be brought to the attention of a parent or guardian. I do not believe children should be charged for a criminal offense since they are juveniles and like I said do not understand the law or consequences of their actions.
(1) posting or sending a sexually explicit photo of yourself to someone under the age of 18, (2) posting or sending a photo of yourself and another person which is sexually explicit, and (3) republishing a sexually explicit photo that someone else sent you privately.
Do any of these activities warrant a felony charge? Do any warrant a misdemeanor charge? Should any be addressed in the juvenile justice system? Should any be decriminalized? How should these situations be handled from a legal perspective?
The fact that a question is even being risen about this being a felony charge is preposterous! These are adolescents, not adults! I do not believe 15 year old murderers should be tried as adults so 12 and 13 year old girls who made mistakes and took pretentious photos should not be penalized with such extent.
I believe that there should not be any legal punishments. What these naive girls need is counseling. They need advice about how they should treat there bodies and overall self-respect.
The first amendment must also be taken into consideration. We have the right so say what we want, whether it be through words or other types of media; such as pictures or videos.
This is crazy and needs to end!
When it comes to posting or sending a sexually explicit photo of yourself anywhere, obviously it shouldn’t be done, but if one chooses to do it than I think it is ultimately their decision and they must deal with whatever the consequences may be. Since the photograph solely involves the person posting or sending it, I don’t think that person should receive felony or misdemeanor charges. In the case of teens, I agree with a few of the previous comments, if parents trust their adolescent kids to have cell phones then they should take the time to explain the rules of having a cell phone. If caught sexting, it should be the parents responsibility to handle the situation.
The situation changes a lot when you bring in sending/posting images of other people besides yourself. This is more serious, those pictures are sent in confidentiality, and although it may be wrong, it is still no one else’s place to post them for anyone else to see. I think this is where it is necessary for the government to get involved through whatever means necessary based on age; I think we all agree punishment for a minor should be less harsh.
It is all about parenting in my opinion. Who gave these kids the idea that it is acceptable to post nude pictures of themselves on the internet? The parents should teach their children that this is unacceptable and stupid.
However, I do think that having these kids registering as sex offenders is absurd. By doing so you screw these kids over for the rest of their lives.
These actions should first off only be considered crimes if actual nudity is present. Second off, if a second party redistributes a private picture that was sent in confidence. It should be the second party at fault, not the sender. Although the sender if underage should be reprimanded or punished… possibly educated against sending messages with sexual content. Maybe instituting fines for parents and their children would also help. This dent in the parents wallet will make them more likely to punish, monitor, or teach their kids that sexting is not acceptable. Either way there needs to be a deterrent of some sort in place. However, registering children as sex offenders and subjecting them to jail time is overly harsh.
I also believe that these cases should be kept from the media as to not harm these children more than necessary.
Kids will be kids. They make mistakes and learn. Yes, we must protect them, but where do we begin? With honest education, stricter parenting, and deterrents.
1.) Reguardless of age, child pornohraphy is illegal. These kids should have consequences even though they are sexting to the same age group. I don’t believe that this should result in a felony charge. That is a bit extreme since these minors aren’t fully developed as far as intelligence and knowing what is right and wrong.
2.) Now if someone was sending an explicit photo that had yourself and another individual in it and didnt have their consent. I would blame the other party for irresponsible. If that person was still a minor then consent should be void in my opinion.
3.) if someone republished a photo i still believe that original sender shouldnt be protected reguardless of consent. If the photo is of a minor then the republisher should have consequences regaurdless of age.
As everyone has already mentioned, It is hard to say what sort of punishment should be used in a situation where a minor is involved with what could be described as child pornography. However, as most of us can agree a felony charge is over the top and unnecessary. Kids do all sorts of weird things they don’t understand the consequences to, but putting a felony on a child’s record is over the top. The idea about some sort of class as punishment seems like a reasonable option. Not a class teaching about pornography of course, but a class that demonstrates the real dangers of the web and the permanence of the things posted there and about the consequences of abusing technology. The classes could describe real stories and situations where people have been really screwed over by playing around with silly pictures and sending or posting them. Maybe this would not be as effective as we would like, but it is an alternative to harsh felony charges.
I’m sure everyone has heard of the reality show 16 and pregnant?
My confusion and disbelief with this whole case is as follows…
How is it possible for a 14 year old to get charged for sending a sexual photo of herself but yet when other individuals in her age group actually HAVE sex and produce kids, they get their own tv show?
Instead of people pointing fingers at the kids, I think someone should point the finger at the message society continually sends out to them.
The only time it should be considered a felony is if the person is underaged and is sending them to an adult, or vice versa. Otherwise I don’t believe it can be considered child pornography whens it’s between two minors.
To me, child pornography is implied as a person over the age of 18 posting or taking sexually explicit pictures or videos of someone under 18. A minor who is sending or posting pictures of themselves should not be a felony or misdemeanor charge. No one forced her to take those pictures and no one forced her to send them anywhere. Why should it ever be illegal to take a picture of yourself naked? And if it is your picture why are you not free to do whatever you want with it. Obviously no institution should legally be allowed to publish any explicit pictures of minors, but a text from one minor to another is private and warrants no criminal charges. If these actions are illegal, then minors should be educated on these facts at a young age because those are serious charges and much too harsh for a young, confused, and hormonal teen.
If a minor willingly sends a half nude picture of themselves is it pornography or self promotion?
This is a very interesting post. I wasn’t aware that some states had changed their law regarding this issue. I believe that if the children are underage and sending explicit pictures to each other they should have to attend a class, for example the drug and alcohol class you take for receiving your permit. It’s about a six hour course, but instead for this situation it would be for juveniles and a course about the responsibility of what they are doing and how it can affect them in the long run. We know girls like to look “sexy” when sending a photo to the guy they like, but some take it to far, but we have to remember they are only children and don’t know all the laws that are set in stone. We also have to keep in mind that not every picture being sent out was for everyone to see, but teenagers can be harsh to others they don’t like and spread the picture like a virus. On the other hand, if a minor is sending a picture to an adult some type of legal action should be taken, and the same goes for an adult sending a picture to a minor. It seems like a touchy subject, but we have to remember like I stated above, 12 and 13 year olds don’t know the laws of the government, at that age they are just “having fun” and don’t realize how these photos can hurt them in the long run.