March 12, 2009
Teens caught 'sexting' face porn charges
According to USA Today, a growing number of teens are ending up in serious trouble for sending racy photos with their cellphones.
Police have investigated more than two dozen teens in at least six states this year for sending nude images of themselves in cellphone text messages, which can bring a charge of distributing child pornography. Authorities typically are notified by parents or schools about so-called "sexting."
... In Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Juvenile Court Judge Thomas O'Malley struggled to figure out what to do with eight teens, 14 to 17, caught trading nude cellphone pictures of themselves. He says the father of one of the girls found the images.
If the 17-year-old who sent the nude photos to an ex-boyfriend were convicted of a child-porn charge, he says, she would be a registered sex offender for 20 years.
"These kids have no record, not even a parking ticket," says O'Malley, a father of four teens.
He required each to do community service and to ask peers if they knew sexting was a crime. They told O'Malley they surveyed 225 teens; 31 knew.
Related:
-- Sexting: New, Dangerous Teen Trend
-- Sexting - fears as teens targeted
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