6 Pennsylvania Teens Charged With Cell Phone 'Sexting'

[Special2bme]

GREENSBURG, Pa. — Three teenage girls who allegedly sent nude or semi-nude cell phone pictures of themselves, and three male classmates in a western Pennsylvania high school who received them, are charged with child pornography.

Police in Greensburg, about 30 miles east of Pittsburgh, say the girls are 14 or 15 and the boys charged with receiving the photos are 16 or 17. None are being identified because most criminal cases in Pennsylvania juvenile courts are not public.

Police say Greensburg Salem High School officials learned of the photos in November when a student was seen using a cell phone during school hours, which violates school rules.

The phone was seized and the photos were found on it. When police investigated, other phones with more pictures were seized.


http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,479803,00.html

[swivel]

I imagine there are going to be lots of cases like this in the future. Kids are incorporating technology into every phase of their lives, and nothing is more important to teenagers than sex.

Do all states derive their child-porn statutes and legal age of consent laws from the same age? It would be weird if you lived in a state where you could legally show your boobs to a boy, but you weren't allowed to send him a pic of them.

[Steph]

I imagine there are going to be lots of cases like this in the future. Kids are incorporating technology into every phase of their lives, and nothing is more important to teenagers than sex.

Do all states derive their child-porn statutes and legal age of consent laws from the same age? It would be weird if you lived in a state where you could legally show your boobs to a boy, but you weren't allowed to send him a pic of them.

States decide ages for consent and porn, but there is a Federal Child porn law (i think that age is 18).

What doesn't make sense to me with these charges is that generally, if a law is designed to PROTECT a class, a member of that class can't be charged with the crime. Ie.Statutory rape laws - only the adult is charged b/c the law was created to protect the minor, even if the minor consented. I don't see why child porn laws are any different. So if these kids get a good lawyer, thats the defense - charges should be dropped and the state just wasted a bunch of money. (oh Witzah, where are you? Do you know more about this?)

I agree w/technology this is going to be a bigger problem. See, back when we used polaroids for naughty pictures...much easier to avoid charges.

[Abroad]

How are the boys culpable? Did they ask the girls to send the pictures? If they did not, I have a hard time seeing how it is their fault they received them?

Unless of course their charges have to do with forwarding the pictures somewhere else.......?

[Steph]

How are the boys culpable? Did they ask the girls to send the pictures? If they did not, I have a hard time seeing how it is their fault they received them?

Unless of course their charges have to do with forwarding the pictures somewhere else.......?

Abroad - I'm not sure of many details, especially since these were minors, but generally child porn cases (and even stat. rape cases) are treated more like strict liability crimes, and culpability doesn't need to be proven. Ie. under federal law the ACT of receiving child porn is enough to make one culpable, regardless of why the person received it.

IF they forwarded the pictures, they would also be charged w/distributing child porn, not just receiving.

I don't think the charges will stick/if they stick the defendants should all be able to get off pretty easily.

[Abroad]

So if one coulld find a way to send child-porn to someone and ensure that it was discovered on their mobile/computer one could get them labelled sex-offenders?

That does not sound entirely fair to me......

[KiKi]

This is so ridiculous...this whole like child porn thing or whatever is getting way out of line...those girls made their own decision to send those pictures to those boys and they shouldn't have to pay the stupid consequences for a 15 year old girls decisions!

[Steph]

So if one coulld find a way to send child-porn to someone and ensure that it was discovered on their mobile/computer one could get them labelled sex-offenders?

That does not sound entirely fair to me......


Not necessarily labeled a S-O, but it could lead to investigation/charges (and the following conviction/SO label). But I spoke a bit too broadly...

(1) I agree w/you, I don't think a lot of these laws are fair.
(2) There are defenses and the evidence is looked at. If something happened like the scenario you described, then the trail of evidence would be followed - leading to the person who sent the email and the purposes it was sent for.
This issue is HUGE b/c of the way the law is written and technological advances. (ie if someone is sent a spam mail w/child porn, and the email was never opened, did that person receive child pornography?) I just did a search and found this article that explained far better than I am doing right now. http://www.criminalattorney.com/pages/firm_articles_child_porn_email.htm