Spring Break
'Sexting' not cause for legal intervention, charging for pornography
Margaret Micelli - Daily Collegian, Penn. State
Issue date: 4/1/09 Section: Opinion
A 14-year-old girl in New Jersey has earned the dubious honor of possibly becoming the youngest person ever to be charged with the distribution of child pornography.
The girl, from Passaic County, was charged with possession and distribution of child pornography after police say she posted nearly 30 explicitly nude photographs of herself on MySpace.
Prosecutors nationwide have been cracking down on the process of sending revealing photographs of teenagers through cell phones and e-mail. Known as "sexting," the act can have some pretty severe consequences.
If the photographs are of a minor, owners can be charged with possession and distribution of child pornography, a felony. If convicted, they would face years in jail and would have to register as a sex offender.
A case in Pennsylvania is challenging this trend. Officials at Tunkhannock Area High School in Wyoming County confiscated five cell phones and found that boys had been trading photos of scantily clad, semi-nude or nude teenage girls. Prosecutors in the town met with about 20 students and offered a deal -- no charges if the teens would take a class on sexual harassment, sexual violence and gender roles. But two students, a pair of thirteen-year-old girls, are fighting back.
The two were photographed in the summer of 2007 wearing opaque white bras, talking on the phone and flashing a peace sign. Last Wednesday, the American Civil Liberties Union asked a federal judge to block the county district attorney from filing charges, saying that the teens didn't consent to having the picture distributed, and that in any event the image is not pornographic.
Under Pennsylvania's child pornography law, it's a felony to possess or disseminate photos of a minor engaged in sexual activity, "lewd exhibition of the genitals" or nudity that is meant to titillate.
While it's true that very few people under the age of 18 attend the university, students here could still find themselves in trouble with this law.
The girl, from Passaic County, was charged with possession and distribution of child pornography after police say she posted nearly 30 explicitly nude photographs of herself on MySpace.
Prosecutors nationwide have been cracking down on the process of sending revealing photographs of teenagers through cell phones and e-mail. Known as "sexting," the act can have some pretty severe consequences.
If the photographs are of a minor, owners can be charged with possession and distribution of child pornography, a felony. If convicted, they would face years in jail and would have to register as a sex offender.
A case in Pennsylvania is challenging this trend. Officials at Tunkhannock Area High School in Wyoming County confiscated five cell phones and found that boys had been trading photos of scantily clad, semi-nude or nude teenage girls. Prosecutors in the town met with about 20 students and offered a deal -- no charges if the teens would take a class on sexual harassment, sexual violence and gender roles. But two students, a pair of thirteen-year-old girls, are fighting back.
The two were photographed in the summer of 2007 wearing opaque white bras, talking on the phone and flashing a peace sign. Last Wednesday, the American Civil Liberties Union asked a federal judge to block the county district attorney from filing charges, saying that the teens didn't consent to having the picture distributed, and that in any event the image is not pornographic.
Under Pennsylvania's child pornography law, it's a felony to possess or disseminate photos of a minor engaged in sexual activity, "lewd exhibition of the genitals" or nudity that is meant to titillate.
While it's true that very few people under the age of 18 attend the university, students here could still find themselves in trouble with this law.
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