Sexting: A Teen Felony?

Sexting: Sending a text message that contains a naked picture of yourself.

Sooooo many questions! If you sext someone, can you still wear your chastity/purity ring? If you send it to someone besides your boyfriend is it cheating? What if he sends it to someone else - is that a threesome? I jest. But not really.

In fact, what has surfaced as the pertinent question in this situation is "Is it child pornography?"

According to Slate.com:

"Last month, three girls (ages 14 or 15) in Greensburg, Pa., were charged with disseminating child pornography for sexting their boyfriends. The boys who received the images were charged with possession. A teenager in Indiana faces felony obscenity charges for sending a picture of his genitals to female classmates. A 15-year-old girl in Ohio and a 14-year-old girl in Michigan were charged with felonies for sending along nude images of themselves to classmates. Some of these teens have pleaded guilty to lesser charges; others have not. If convicted, these young people may have to register as sex offenders, in some cases for a decade or two. Similar charges have been filed in cases in Alabama, Connecticut, Florida, New Jersey, New York, Texas, Utah, and Wisconsin."

WOW.

So this is in no way considered an innocent mistake - these kids have literally turned their lives upside down and they will pay for the consequences of their teenage stupidity for years.

Now in a case where these images are abused (shown against the sender's consent; used for bullying, etc) then it is understandeable that the offending party should be have repercussions. But police officers are saying the kids who choose to send the pictures of themselves should be prosecuted to show them the severity of distributing what, to many, is considered distributing child pornography.

Some say this is a new trend in child pornography. Others see it as teen folly, to be cringed at one day in a retirement home cafeteria. But at the end of the day, who is hurt in all this? Who suffers? The kids. No one yet knows how difficult it will be for them to find a job while registered on the sex offender's list. They certainly can never work in a school or a daycare. And they will be charged with child porn felonies, so for the rest of their lives they will have to tick that box on job applications. In an effort to protect kids from predators, the law has somehow turned on them and caused severe repercussions to 14- and 15-year olds whose biggest concern in life is getting asked to prom.

The debate amounts to two questions: Can you be the child and the predator? And if you can, if you prosecute the predator, are you still protecting the child?

My question is since when did freedom of speech only apply when you turn 18? These children are American and allowed, by law, to express themselves. That alone should rule out their prosecution on felony charges. That said, there SHOULD be consequences. They should be put in counseling, suspended from school and have their phones confiscated and thier parents called to comply with this rule. They most likely did not know they were being child pornographers. EDUCATE THEM. The whole world is still dealing with massive changes in the way we live our lives with the introduction of popular new technology. These issues didn't exist when school policy was written - they didn't exist until camera phones were created about 4 years ago.