Teen Sexting: Is it a Crime?

By now you may be familiar with the term sexting. If you are not, a brief definition found on wikipedia says that sexting is, "the act of sending sexually explicit messages or photos electronically, primarily between cell phones".

The sexting phenomenon which was reported as early as 2005 has become a problem for teenagers across the country. Some teenagers do not see the consequences that come with sending nude photos and pornographic images of themselves back and forth. However, the consequences are serious, dangerous, and sometimes even deadly. What typically occurs is that one teen sends explicit pictures to another teen who then sends them on to others leaving the original sender embarrassed and humiliated. This is exactly what happened last year with tragic results. Jessica Logan, from Ohio, committed suicide after being harassed by fellow students. Jessica had sent a nude photo of herself to her boyfriend who in turn allegedly sent it to many of his friends. The girls mother blames sexting for her daughters suicide.

Sexting also carries with it legal penalties that are severe. It is illegal under federal law child-porn laws to create explicit images of a minor, posses them or distribute them. These laws were initially crafted to prosecute adult predators and pedophiles, However, they are not drafted in a way that exempts teens from penalties for creating and distributing graphic images, even if the images are of themselves.

So the question is should teen sexting be a crime? What is the appropriate response? Do we really want to label a teenager as a sex offender well into the future?

So far there have been two polar opposite responses to those questions thus far. The one approach is to say, yes it's wrong, but it shouldn't be criminal. The other approach is to say this is wrong, it is criminal and we are going to prosecute it.

The first approach is epitomized by states like Vermont and Utah which amended their laws earlier this year, making sexting by teens a misdemeanor instead of a felony. These states are joined by the ACLU who are bringing a law suit against a Pennsylvania prosecutor who is bringing child pornography charges against three teen girls. The prosecutor first offered the girls and seventeen others the chance to take an educational class and serve six months probation, but the three girls refused to take an educational course resulting in the charges being pursued. One of the girls was only 12 years old when photo of her from the waste up in only a bra was taken.

The other approach is to pursue these cases as criminal matters and prosecute the accused for sex crimes, making them sex offenders if convicted. According to an article in the Sun Sentinel,

"We investigate sexting like any kind of child pornography case, because that's basically what it is," Broward Sheriff's Office Detective Eric Hendel said. "We get calls when a parent finds material in their child's cell phone and they become inflamed. But they want to back off when they find out their child is just as guilty because they are actively participating in it."

Sexting has exploded onto the teen scene, according to prosecutors at the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office, so much so that the office is drafting a policy to address it.

"After that Orlando case hitting the papers, I see it coming down the pike," said Lynn Powell, chief of the juvenile division.

That Orlando case involved an 18-year-old boy seeking revenge on his former girlfriend, 16, by e-mailing nude photos of her in 2007 to scores of people, including her parents. Charged with sending child pornography, the teen now finds himself on the state sex-offender registry. Last year, an 18-year-old Ohio girl hanged herself after being taunted by classmates after her ex-boyfriend circulated nude photos she had sent him."

A USA Today article also points out that in cases of online child porn, many of the victims first published the source material themselves,

"This week in Spotsylvania, Va., two boys, ages 15 and 18, were charged with solicitation and possession of child porn with intent to distribute after an investigation found they sought nude pictures from three juveniles — one in elementary school.

"It's absolutely becoming a bigger problem," says Michelle Collins of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

Of the 2,100 children the center has identified as victims of online porn, she says, one-fourth initially sent the images themselves."

The logical end to this method is child felons serving time. Is this the right approach? I would venture to argue that yes in part this is the right approach. I say in part because I believe that we should treat this as a crime, but we should consider the necessity of a sex offender label following these kids around for the rest of their lives. Additionally, we must recognize that this cannot be the only approach. While we must take a stand on this issue and take it seriously as the crime that it is, we must also educate our children. We must teach them about the legal consequences, as well as, the social and moral implications related to sexting.

Without question the negative aspects of sexting can, will, and have ruined lives. For those of you who think this issue is really no big deal, I challenge you to think deeper.