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Is it ethical to charge teens with a felony for possession of child pornography if they are caught "sexting" with a peer?
Under MN law, "the age of the person possessing child pornography does not matter", meaning that if a 13 or 14 year old child were caught texting nude photos to a friend or receiving such photos or videos from another child via cell phone or email, he or she could be facing felony charges for possession of child pornography. If a child were charged with this felony, he/she would be considered a sex offender and would have to comply with all requirements of such as charge. Is this law too strict or should teens really be held accountable for looking at naked pictures of same-age peers?
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October 14, 2009 11:44 PM
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I think this is insane. This issue is a double edged sword. First of all Teen are brainless at this age. They think that they are invinsible, immortal, and that they know everything. I have 2 at my house. The thing about the issue of sexting is yes it is child pornography. but it is pornography of themselves sending it to their friends. Now the friend is holding child pornography and you can bet the this friend is sending it to other friends. We have one picture that is virally being spread around to practically anyone. Who is to say that a true child pornographer will not eventually get ahold of it and profit from it. I think they can and do.
According to USA Today (http://www.usatoday.com/tech/wireless/2009-03-11-sexting_N.htm) a poll was done with 225 teens and they were asked if they knew that sexting was a crime and only 31 knew that it was. That is amazing to me that intelligent teens would not think anything about sexting and sending nude pictures of themselves to others.
Do I think that they should be prosecuted for it? Yes I think that they should. Think that if you prosecuted a teen for sexting that it will become a viral event. What I mean by this is that if a teen who is sexting gets arrested and prosecuted, what will happen with the big group of friends that is in his 'homey' group. They will delete these pictures and cease and desist. (my opinion) I believe, also, that these kids in the group will tell others in a subgroup and eventually it will slow down. Of course you will always have a few invinsible teens who will rebel and continue, but they will eventually get caught and prosecuted like most criminals do.
By the way, the judge in the USA article gave the offenders community service as a punishment for breaking the law, and I think that was sufficient. In New York state, a 16 year old is facing seven years for forwarding the picture of his naked 15 year old girlfriend to his friends. (http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/WorldNews/story?id=6456834&page=1&page=1). Seven years is just unneccessary. The first judge had it right with the community service. I think that community service for a year will make the teens really think before they sext.
I mentioned that this issue is a double edged sword. Yes I agree that the teen should be prosecuted but it should not ruin his life. A study done on the development of the brain, clearly shows that although a teen may look like an adult, they truly don't think like one because their brain continues to develop until the age of 20-22. http://www.abanet.org/crimjust/juvjus/Adolescence.pdf).
For this reason I do not feel that it is ethical to charge them as a full sex offender. So it would also be inappropriate for them to have to register each year to the sex offender list. They did not rape or molest someone, they made a bad choice that they could not fully understand.
I think the true question we have to ask as parents is whether or not it is ethical to hand our teens cellphone with picture taking features. I gave my teens cellphones, like most of us. I want to know where they are at all times and if they disappear, they can still be tracked. The phones that my husband and I decided on were plain phones, no camera or internet access. Although they can text to their friends, their phones will not accept pictures or music (no bluetooth). I know my two teens. They are good kids and very intelligent. But if they were sent pictures of friends naked, they would think anything about it. So we decided to give them the phone they needed without the frills so that we could have a piece of mind.
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According to USA Today (http://www.usatoday.com/tech/wireless/2009-03-11-sexting_N.htm) a poll was done with 225 teens and they were asked if they knew that sexting was a crime and only 31 knew that it was. That is amazing to me that intelligent teens would not think anything about sexting and sending nude pictures of themselves to others.
Do I think that they should be prosecuted for it? Yes I think that they should. Think that if you prosecuted a teen for sexting that it will become a viral event. What I mean by this is that if a teen who is sexting gets arrested and prosecuted, what will happen with the big group of friends that is in his 'homey' group. They will delete these pictures and cease and desist. (my opinion) I believe, also, that these kids in the group will tell others in a subgroup and eventually it will slow down. Of course you will always have a few invinsible teens who will rebel and continue, but they will eventually get caught and prosecuted like most criminals do.
By the way, the judge in the USA article gave the offenders community service as a punishment for breaking the law, and I think that was sufficient. In New York state, a 16 year old is facing seven years for forwarding the picture of his naked 15 year old girlfriend to his friends. (http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/WorldNews/story?id=6456834&page=1&page=1). Seven years is just unneccessary. The first judge had it right with the community service. I think that community service for a year will make the teens really think before they sext.
I mentioned that this issue is a double edged sword. Yes I agree that the teen should be prosecuted but it should not ruin his life. A study done on the development of the brain, clearly shows that although a teen may look like an adult, they truly don't think like one because their brain continues to develop until the age of 20-22. http://www.abanet.org/crimjust/juvjus/Adolescence.pdf).
For this reason I do not feel that it is ethical to charge them as a full sex offender. So it would also be inappropriate for them to have to register each year to the sex offender list. They did not rape or molest someone, they made a bad choice that they could not fully understand.
I think the true question we have to ask as parents is whether or not it is ethical to hand our teens cellphone with picture taking features. I gave my teens cellphones, like most of us. I want to know where they are at all times and if they disappear, they can still be tracked. The phones that my husband and I decided on were plain phones, no camera or internet access. Although they can text to their friends, their phones will not accept pictures or music (no bluetooth). I know my two teens. They are good kids and very intelligent. But if they were sent pictures of friends naked, they would think anything about it. So we decided to give them the phone they needed without the frills so that we could have a piece of mind.
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October 14, 2009 10:45 PM
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I think that these laws have been made harsh purposefully to deter teens from sexting.
School is tough enough without having to worry about naked pictures of yourself flying around cell phones and the Internet.
There aren't many practical solutions to this problem other than to associate harsh laws with it. It's a sad fact of our society not only that problems such as sexting exist but that our legal system is forced to act as a heavy handed parent.
http://www.reputationdefenderblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/250sexting0.jpg
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School is tough enough without having to worry about naked pictures of yourself flying around cell phones and the Internet.
There aren't many practical solutions to this problem other than to associate harsh laws with it. It's a sad fact of our society not only that problems such as sexting exist but that our legal system is forced to act as a heavy handed parent.
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October 15, 2009 12:33 AM
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Ugh...
Well, you've got pre-pubescents - let's call them children - and you've got post age-of-consent people (around 18 in most jurisdictions) - let's call them adults - and you've you've got the ones in-between, which are post-pubescent but pre age-of-consent - let's call them teens.
For starters, children are out of it on all levels. They don't send or receive nude pics of anyone at any age, and nude pics of children are forbidden to people of any age... not only can you not pass them around, you can't even own them, because even if you're a perv who can control himself, the problem is those pic can be stolen, and then propagated.
If you're an adult, you can pass around pics of nude adults, but not teens.
If you're a teen, you can pass around pics of nude adults, although there are those who grit their teeth at the notion, but generally let it pass because they're just going to sneak out and look at nude magazines anyway.
The question is, should teens be allowed to pass around pics of nude teens, because like how we don't allow adults to have sex with teens, we tend to look the other way when teens are having sex with each other. If an adult has sex with a teen, the adult is usually sent to prison, and the teen is usually sent to therapy.
If it was me, I'd say that the penalty for teens who pass around pics of nude teens should be the same as the penalty for teens who pose for nude pics or who have been caught having sex with an adult, which is therapy, even if that therapy consists of just a good talking to.
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Well, you've got pre-pubescents - let's call them children - and you've got post age-of-consent people (around 18 in most jurisdictions) - let's call them adults - and you've you've got the ones in-between, which are post-pubescent but pre age-of-consent - let's call them teens.
For starters, children are out of it on all levels. They don't send or receive nude pics of anyone at any age, and nude pics of children are forbidden to people of any age... not only can you not pass them around, you can't even own them, because even if you're a perv who can control himself, the problem is those pic can be stolen, and then propagated.
If you're an adult, you can pass around pics of nude adults, but not teens.
If you're a teen, you can pass around pics of nude adults, although there are those who grit their teeth at the notion, but generally let it pass because they're just going to sneak out and look at nude magazines anyway.
The question is, should teens be allowed to pass around pics of nude teens, because like how we don't allow adults to have sex with teens, we tend to look the other way when teens are having sex with each other. If an adult has sex with a teen, the adult is usually sent to prison, and the teen is usually sent to therapy.
If it was me, I'd say that the penalty for teens who pass around pics of nude teens should be the same as the penalty for teens who pose for nude pics or who have been caught having sex with an adult, which is therapy, even if that therapy consists of just a good talking to.
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October 15, 2009 01:19 AM
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You just saw that SVU episode didn't you :P
I don't agree it's pornography unless they are selling the photos. If they are just sending nude pics of themselves to one person that's between those two people and it wasn't paid for. It's over kill to call that pornography.
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I don't agree it's pornography unless they are selling the photos. If they are just sending nude pics of themselves to one person that's between those two people and it wasn't paid for. It's over kill to call that pornography.
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October 15, 2009 01:35 AM
SVU?
I just a search, and that stands for Special Victim's Unit, of the show Law and Order, right?
I don't watch TV.
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I just a search, and that stands for Special Victim's Unit, of the show Law and Order, right?
I don't watch TV.
October 15, 2009 02:09 AM
Yeah, I didn't till I became a stay at home mom. lol They did a two part episode on an underage girl who sent nude photos to her boyfriend and one other boy, and then he sent them to everyone in the school. Her boyfriend beat her up so they tried to charge her with underage porn distribution to get her to admit he did it. She wouldn't tell.
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October 15, 2009 02:14 AM
Actually, it's not overkill to call it pornography. Pornography doesn't require the element of profit or for pay. Pornographic or sexual, all the same. If a kid is taking pictures of themselves in sexual positions and performing sexual acts, that's porn, whether they are selling them or not.
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October 15, 2009 05:18 AM
I dunno. I took nude photos for my husband on his birthday while I was stuck in Germany and he was in Alaska. i don't feel that was porn, so I wouldn't call a teenage girl sending her bf photos porn. However by definition, you're right.. it is porn.
por⋅nog⋅ra⋅phy
/pɔrˈnɒgrəfi/ Show Spelled Pronunciation pawr-nog-ruh-fee Show IPA
–noun
obscene writings, drawings, photographs, or the like, esp. those having little or no artistic merit.
Learn something new everyday. I was unaware writing could be considered porn.
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por⋅nog⋅ra⋅phy
/pɔrˈnɒgrəfi/ Show Spelled Pronunciation pawr-nog-ruh-fee Show IPA
–noun
obscene writings, drawings, photographs, or the like, esp. those having little or no artistic merit.
Learn something new everyday. I was unaware writing could be considered porn.
October 15, 2009 02:30 AM
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I wrote two articles last year that were about Sixth Grade Students Having Sex in Classroom W/ Teacher Present and Fifth Grade Students Having Sex in Classroom
So I'm not sure 'kids' is able to be differentiated from 'teens' here (@Omicron). Fifth graders would have to about ten or eleven years old, making sixth graders eleven or twelve.
So they ARE having sex, so I could imagine they are sexting too.
Should the punishment be swift and harsh? Absolutely. For the parents.
I cannot believe with any reasonability that a good parent would have an 11 year old sexting with anyone and not know it. My son is 15 and I agonized over whether or not to get him a cell phone just this year, and figured he'd need one once he started driving, so I got one to get him used to it now. I would never get an 11 year old a cell phone - period. If they did have one, it wouldn't have IM, internet and texting capability and they wouldn't be using that phone at school, at dinner, or when they were supposed to be doing other things.
Just as I limit and monitor my son's internet usage, his cell phone usage is monitored too.
Any parent who has a child 'sexting' at such a young age is NOT paying attention to their children, AND I have to question a teen THAT young being so sexually graphic. We are sexual beings, I get that, and experimentation is part and parcel, but sexting, graphic sexual acts and photographing and sending them out to folks via text messages or phone emails, that goes beyond normal experimentation.
Should the child be punished along with the parent. Yes! To me, this type of situation is really child neglect (neglectful supervision) and that's against the law - so the parent gets punished for that, while the child is held accountable for his/her action.
However, making a felony out of it and making them register for the rest of their lives as a sex offender? That's going to do nothing but make a criminal out of a child that might have been redeemable, grow up productive, etc, and it causes them to lose a lot of opportunities.
That is why we have a juvenile justice system. At least, that's why we're SUPPOSED to have one.
I used to work in criminal justice advocacy... the juvenile justice system just stinks and kids who really are just kids are being permanently branded for things as 'adults' that shouldn't have been.
It's all so sad. While I'll say there are a few exceptions to the rule, MOST negative behavior by a mentally healthy child is due to bad parenting.
I'm pretty sure I'm gonna get bashed by that from someone. Just remember, I did say a mentally healthy child. There are sometimes reasons for children to act out in ways that are extraordinary for their ages, understanding, etc, but it's usually due to neglect, abuse, sexual abuse, mental health, or physical health issues. A child who is not mentally healthy and stable won't be held to the same standards in a court of law even, so I'm not referring to that type of child.
But for every other child, the majority of behavior problems, especially ones bad enough to lead to law enforcement involvement at an age prior to about 16 or so (give or take) is because of bad or absent parenting.
IMO, anyway.
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So I'm not sure 'kids' is able to be differentiated from 'teens' here (@Omicron). Fifth graders would have to about ten or eleven years old, making sixth graders eleven or twelve.
So they ARE having sex, so I could imagine they are sexting too.
Should the punishment be swift and harsh? Absolutely. For the parents.
I cannot believe with any reasonability that a good parent would have an 11 year old sexting with anyone and not know it. My son is 15 and I agonized over whether or not to get him a cell phone just this year, and figured he'd need one once he started driving, so I got one to get him used to it now. I would never get an 11 year old a cell phone - period. If they did have one, it wouldn't have IM, internet and texting capability and they wouldn't be using that phone at school, at dinner, or when they were supposed to be doing other things.
Just as I limit and monitor my son's internet usage, his cell phone usage is monitored too.
Any parent who has a child 'sexting' at such a young age is NOT paying attention to their children, AND I have to question a teen THAT young being so sexually graphic. We are sexual beings, I get that, and experimentation is part and parcel, but sexting, graphic sexual acts and photographing and sending them out to folks via text messages or phone emails, that goes beyond normal experimentation.
Should the child be punished along with the parent. Yes! To me, this type of situation is really child neglect (neglectful supervision) and that's against the law - so the parent gets punished for that, while the child is held accountable for his/her action.
However, making a felony out of it and making them register for the rest of their lives as a sex offender? That's going to do nothing but make a criminal out of a child that might have been redeemable, grow up productive, etc, and it causes them to lose a lot of opportunities.
That is why we have a juvenile justice system. At least, that's why we're SUPPOSED to have one.
I used to work in criminal justice advocacy... the juvenile justice system just stinks and kids who really are just kids are being permanently branded for things as 'adults' that shouldn't have been.
It's all so sad. While I'll say there are a few exceptions to the rule, MOST negative behavior by a mentally healthy child is due to bad parenting.
I'm pretty sure I'm gonna get bashed by that from someone. Just remember, I did say a mentally healthy child. There are sometimes reasons for children to act out in ways that are extraordinary for their ages, understanding, etc, but it's usually due to neglect, abuse, sexual abuse, mental health, or physical health issues. A child who is not mentally healthy and stable won't be held to the same standards in a court of law even, so I'm not referring to that type of child.
But for every other child, the majority of behavior problems, especially ones bad enough to lead to law enforcement involvement at an age prior to about 16 or so (give or take) is because of bad or absent parenting.
IMO, anyway.
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October 15, 2009 01:51 PM
So you are saying that the parent should be punished along with the teen? And you are saying that the parent who does not know that there teen is sexting is a bad parent? How can that be. Teens are masters at trying to get away with things. They are masters at trying but they usually slip up and get caught. That is why I check their phones on a daily basis. My son likes to try and get away with things on his phone by deleting all the information. He gets grounded for that. Because I feel like if it is deleted then he is hiding something. Will he tell me what he deleted? maybe, maybe not. will he lie to me? In a second.
How can you say that I am a bad parent if i don't know for a fact if my son is sexting. I think that it is harsh. I do my best to stay on top of these kids, but I can't be with them 24 hours aday. I handle each situation separately and seriously.
My son has issues but I have taught him and my other children right from wrong. By the time a child is 16 or 17, it is time for them to take what they have learned and start making the right decision. Do they always make the right decision? No. no they don't because as I tell them, their brains are still developing. That is why some of the opinions they have make sense to them right now.
I don't by the bad parenting idea. Yes there are bad parents out there but a parent is not a bad parent because they caught their teen doing wrong yet
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How can you say that I am a bad parent if i don't know for a fact if my son is sexting. I think that it is harsh. I do my best to stay on top of these kids, but I can't be with them 24 hours aday. I handle each situation separately and seriously.
My son has issues but I have taught him and my other children right from wrong. By the time a child is 16 or 17, it is time for them to take what they have learned and start making the right decision. Do they always make the right decision? No. no they don't because as I tell them, their brains are still developing. That is why some of the opinions they have make sense to them right now.
I don't by the bad parenting idea. Yes there are bad parents out there but a parent is not a bad parent because they caught their teen doing wrong yet
October 15, 2009 02:36 AM
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They are KIDS! Kids do stupid thing, unless it severely hurt other persons, they should not ruin their life because of stupid mistake.
First of all, does the law enforcement and education system have tried their hardest to educate the teens about the danger of pornography. Lawmakers should remember that outlawing something does not solve the problems, it can create bigger problems. How someone will able to continue their life labeled as a sex offender just because he’s too ignorant to think that photographing himself and his girlfriend making out is a sex crime? How can it ever be alright?
Teenagers is the age for experiment. Their hormones go haywire and sometimes they can’t control themselves. It does not merit a ruined life just because they act stupid and rebellious. Lawmakers should try to understand teenager’s psychology and needs before even consider applying such laws. Law should be the last resort, not the first.
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First of all, does the law enforcement and education system have tried their hardest to educate the teens about the danger of pornography. Lawmakers should remember that outlawing something does not solve the problems, it can create bigger problems. How someone will able to continue their life labeled as a sex offender just because he’s too ignorant to think that photographing himself and his girlfriend making out is a sex crime? How can it ever be alright?
Teenagers is the age for experiment. Their hormones go haywire and sometimes they can’t control themselves. It does not merit a ruined life just because they act stupid and rebellious. Lawmakers should try to understand teenager’s psychology and needs before even consider applying such laws. Law should be the last resort, not the first.
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October 15, 2009 03:14 PM
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I think its stupid. I mean if went around my school and conviscated phones almost everybody would be convicted of child porn and that would ruin a good career quick in the future. I mean its people their age but i think if they had like suggestive pictures of like little kids on there then I could see the child porn charge.
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October 15, 2009 05:24 PM
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I see that the definition of pornography looks like this:
por⋅nog⋅ra⋅phy /pɔrˈnɒgrəfi/
obscene writings, drawings, photographs, or the like, esp. those having little or no artistic merit.
I have to ask the question, since when can't nude photos pose any artistic merit? Whether the photos be adults or children, isn't the human body one of the most artistic things on the planet?
-smarta$$-
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por⋅nog⋅ra⋅phy /pɔrˈnɒgrəfi/
obscene writings, drawings, photographs, or the like, esp. those having little or no artistic merit.
I have to ask the question, since when can't nude photos pose any artistic merit? Whether the photos be adults or children, isn't the human body one of the most artistic things on the planet?
-smarta$$-
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