The Woes of "Sexting"

© 2004 Associated Press

By Cristina Luiggi

According to an AP story, a 14-year-old girl from New Jersey posted 30 nude pictures of herself on MySpace for her boyfriend to see. When the county sheriff was notified, the girl was arrested and charged with possession of child pornography and distribution of child pornography. If she's convicted of distribution of child pornography, she would have to register as a sex offender and could face up to 17 years in jail.

The article says the accusation seems to have no legal precedent. However, there have been a number of cases in other states involving teens sending “provocative” pictures via cellphones.

A New York Times article follows a case from Pennsylvania involving semi-nude pictures of three teen girls taken during a slumber party. The district attorney warned the girls that if they didn’t attend classes on pornography and sexual violence, he would file charges of sexual abuse of a minor. The three girls refused.

The girl’s parents filed a federal lawsuit against the district attorney claiming the pictures were not child pornography and that the girls didn’t consent to having their picture distributed. There is also the issue that the pictures were obtained from confiscated cellphones – and the Fourth Amendment protects the personal information contained in cell phones.

According to another NYT article, a federal judge commented that the children were being considered both the victims and perpetrators. The distict attorney's lawyer countered that state law “doesn’t distinguish between who took the picture and who was in it.”

Questions: Can the DA prove that the teenagers who sent nude or semi-nude pictures of themselves through text messages are engaging in child pornography? Would this change whether the pictures were published online or sent over a wireless phone?