gprime
May 22nd, 2008, 07:48 PM
Story via AVN (http://avn.com/law/articles/30335.html) (probably NSFW)...
A CROSSE, Wis. - A Wisconsin teenager who said he was "venting" when he posted nude pictures of his 16-year-old ex-girlfriend faces felony child-porn charges.
Alex Phillips, 17, of La Crosse, appeared in court Tuesday on felony charges of possession of child pornography, sexual exploitation of a child and defamation.
Phillips was arrested after posting naked photos of his 16-year-old ex-girlfriend, accompanied by lewd comments, on his MySpace page, investigators said. According to investigators, when Phillips was warned that he could face jail time for publishing the images, he replied, "Fuck that. I am keeping them up."
The ex-girlfriend shot the cell-phone pictures and sent them to Phillips, court documents state. Phillips reportedly told investigators that he did not intend to harm the girl and that he "probably should not have done this," according to court records.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 28 in the LaCrosse County Circuit Court.
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I'm sorry, but this is nuts. I realize that in Wisconsin 18 is the age of consent, but they are accordingly quite abnormal. It is one of only 5 states that require both participants to be 18 or older. The other 45 have much lower limits, some as low as 14. And, regardless of what the law on the books is, it is absurd to not realize that teens will have sex anyway, and that outlawing it is both pointless and unjust. So, if she can have sex, which really is clearly the case, then she must be nude in front of others. What then makes a picture of it so bad? Remember that movies like American Beauty feature stars under 18 who are naked.
In my mind, there should be no criminal charges filed. For those who want to go after him, as she legitimately might, there is another option: civil action. Since she took the photo herself, under US law she has an implied copyright. While she gave him a copy of it, she never licensed his exhibition of it, thus rendering his actions a violation of her copyright. This would be grounds for a lawsuit.
A CROSSE, Wis. - A Wisconsin teenager who said he was "venting" when he posted nude pictures of his 16-year-old ex-girlfriend faces felony child-porn charges.
Alex Phillips, 17, of La Crosse, appeared in court Tuesday on felony charges of possession of child pornography, sexual exploitation of a child and defamation.
Phillips was arrested after posting naked photos of his 16-year-old ex-girlfriend, accompanied by lewd comments, on his MySpace page, investigators said. According to investigators, when Phillips was warned that he could face jail time for publishing the images, he replied, "Fuck that. I am keeping them up."
The ex-girlfriend shot the cell-phone pictures and sent them to Phillips, court documents state. Phillips reportedly told investigators that he did not intend to harm the girl and that he "probably should not have done this," according to court records.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 28 in the LaCrosse County Circuit Court.
---
I'm sorry, but this is nuts. I realize that in Wisconsin 18 is the age of consent, but they are accordingly quite abnormal. It is one of only 5 states that require both participants to be 18 or older. The other 45 have much lower limits, some as low as 14. And, regardless of what the law on the books is, it is absurd to not realize that teens will have sex anyway, and that outlawing it is both pointless and unjust. So, if she can have sex, which really is clearly the case, then she must be nude in front of others. What then makes a picture of it so bad? Remember that movies like American Beauty feature stars under 18 who are naked.
In my mind, there should be no criminal charges filed. For those who want to go after him, as she legitimately might, there is another option: civil action. Since she took the photo herself, under US law she has an implied copyright. While she gave him a copy of it, she never licensed his exhibition of it, thus rendering his actions a violation of her copyright. This would be grounds for a lawsuit.