Sexting Teens facing felony charges for misuse of cell phones

It’s a well documented fact that many teens and young adults have found themselves entangled in legal nightmares as a result of cell phones being used to transmit sexually graphic texts or images. If you are a parent of a teen ...




... you may find insights into the "Why's" of sexting in an article posted March 23, 2009 at WashingtonPost.com
Why teens Sext

What is Sexting?

According to the Urban Dictionary “Sexting” is a term created by the media referring to sending sexually explicit text messages. The term is used by adults who are out of the loop and not by the individuals (often teens) who are actually sending the explicit messages.

What ever you call it, sexting, sextexting, sextextuals, or sext messages, for many parents and teenagers it may well be a sextastropy.

So what kind of legal hot water can a teen find themselves in? These legal entanglements range in severity from federal and state criminal indictments to civil legal battles and have resulted in teens being convicted of felonies and misdemeanors receiving sentences of incarceration in Juvenal prison, or some other type of punishment. Some are now required to register as sex offenders.

It goes without saying that the chain of events that unfolds in our juvenile justice court rooms across the nation involving “sexting” are as different as the people entangled in them. The legal ramifications and outcomes vary greatly from jurisdiction to jurisdiction; however, if they are mostly due to an adolescents poor judgment, lack of knowledge, or general misuse of a cell phone, then it stands to reason many of these situations are completely avoidable. We all know teens don't necessarily follow all the rules, but at a minimum, they should be educated on the possible consiquence and the laws they may be violating.

In our view, unless other mitigating circumstances exist, teens should not be forced to register as sex offenders for acts obviously brought about by ill-advised adolescent behavior and poor judgment. This is NOT what the sex offender registration program was intended for. We need law makers to take a good look at this and come up with sensible standards. We need family court judges to have lattitude in sentencing these types of blunders where juveniles are concerned on a case by case basis. Yes, there are some youth out there who are violent sex offenders and certainly, they should be treated as such; however, there are many circumstances where, in our view, felony convictions and sex offender registration is not justified.



One judge took the right approach and he is to be commended for his wisdom and courage. Judge Thomas F O’Malley in Cleveland took what we felt was a very productive, useful approach in sentencing eight suburban teens (ages 14, 15, and 16) from Mayfield and Highland heights in the fall of 2008.

These teens were taking provocative nude photos of themselves and sending them through their cell phones to their boyfriends or girl friends. They knew they could get in trouble for it, but did not know they could be charged with a felony. The parents, in complete shock over the photos, didn’t know their kids could be charged with felonies until the prosecuting attorney educated them on the realities for violating obscenity laws.

Under a special sentencing plan agreed on by Judge O’Malley, the defense attorney’s and the prosecuting attorney’s, every teen was ordered to survey 25 other teens in their school to educate them and report back whether they knew having, viewing or sending explicit photos of a minor over a cell phone could result in a felony conviction and incarceration in juvenile jail. In addition, they were mandated get counseling and be assessed under the same guidelines for cases considered sexual offenses. If they comply with the sentencing, the charges will be dismissed.

The teens will come back into Judge O’Malley’s court after a given time to compile the results and present their results. The results may be used to educate other teens in their community and beyond.

A national survey release in December 2008 about sex, technology and teens showed that 20% of teens surveyed had electronically transmitted nude or provocative photos of themselves via internet post or cell phone. 40% had sent sexually evocative texts or instant messages.

If you think you see most of the horror stories on misuse of cell phones in the news and media today, you'd be mistaken. The simple fact is, 99% of these cases never hit the news. The reality is, misuse of cell phones has destroy people’s lives, or at a minimum, turn their lives completely upside down. The actions that cause this destruction are not exclusive to teens. Some adults are just as prone to poor judgment, only they don’t get to talk to a family court judge, they get a criminal court judge. Different rules entirely.

We are conducting research in all 50 states to obtain state laws on cell phone related issues. For many states, there are new cell phone laws being passed. All states are adapting cellular phone laws not only for driving issues, but for privacy issues too.

Sexlaws Research Team
S. Frances
2009-03-08 08:53:56 -0800

Sex & Tech Teen Voices
Sex & Tech Survey pdf DOWNLOAD






Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 03/01/2010 - 12:28.

sexting rocks

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 03/08/2010 - 21:00.

You cant get pregnant or get an STD.

GO SEXTING!!!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 01/27/2010 - 00:39.

Well I think a 17 year old sending sex messages to a 11 year old should go to jail. I will find out what kind of laws apply to this in my state. I just got the overwhelming information today. We had to rush out the house for basketball practice, and the cell phone was left. I looked and was very surprised.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 12/21/2009 - 01:46.

If sexting is to be so illegal why is it always one person to be charged with it in each case. It takes both individuals to hit each send button, am I correct? So if both are charged then who is the "offense" against? Charges could be pressed either way and both lives are ruined. I'm speaking strictly for children. Also if an 18 year old receives a test or picture of someone under 18 with any sexual content what so ever they can be charged with a felony even if they didn't participate in it. I find this to be wrong. I myself am currently in a predicament. I am 18 and a girl under 18 texted me explicit messages (no pictures) I responded to her initiative and her dad got a hold of her phone and called my parents. So as it stands it is between the families. No sexual actions at all have been made between us just the exchange of texts. Her parents have now alerted my school which is a private school. That's where it stands right now as it is Christmas break. I don't feel I should have any charges against me as I have not touched her in anyway nor was I in possesion of any underage pictures. And with her initiative and invovlement she should be just as liable. I'd like to hear anyones comments.

Submitted by anonymously speaking (not verified) on Mon, 12/14/2009 - 16:23.

Okay I'm gonna come out and say this because well, yeah alot of people my age are familiar with "sexting" YOu can pretty much have sex over messages and pics and videos. Yeah, it's wrong I agree with that. But look at the circumstances, when it's just a couple that is keeping it to themselves, aren't posting it in public places, and is just ment to be for themselves, then why get all in their business? Or what if it was a bad mistake in the past, you can't change the past. I am only 15, duh I'm going to have hormones and DUH some texts are going to be more racy than others, but... if you knew me, I don't deserve the title "sex-offender" who did I ever offend? The only rights broken were my own self-respect. I totally agree that sexting can get out of hand, but look more into it, sometimes laws and government and law enforcers get too involved with things. Make it a huge deal. I'm not perfect, neither are you.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 12/04/2009 - 22:17.

why should the goverment get involved,it's a personal isue and if the parents have a isue with it then they should deal with it,but that doesent mean the goverment has to deal with it. and its a personal choice if that person wants to do it then fine. and what people never seem to get is that teens like to not follow direction. there seeing how far they can go, if they want that fine its there choice and in the end when they get older there going to do it anyway one way or anouther. just because there younger doesent mean they dont undersand. adlts need to undersand that we do have minds and even though we make mistaces more often doesent mean they can control us becuase it doesent work. what they need is a seperate law for kids governed by kids that undestand whats going on in our lives.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 12/13/2009 - 01:04.

i disagree with your statement the government should get involve do you know how many perverts are out there i wouldn't want my child to be talked to that way especially if im paying her cell phone bills and you are living under my rules. when my my child get her own house she can do what ever she please but until that day come she will not be sexting in my damn house. if a dude really had respect for you wouldn't have to do any sexual things with him until you all are married

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 12/21/2009 - 01:22.

Do you not understand this is about kids being charged. I understand your fear as a parent of ur son or daughter being taken advantage of but what if it's your daughter doing it in her free will with another kid her age? Does that mean they both should be charge for felonys? You really need to understand this article is for kids being charged not adults as you are revering to so please think before you act. It's ironic how a kid has to use that line to an adult when the issue is for kids to use their brains .

Submitted by PeterG (not verified) on Sun, 11/08/2009 - 17:05.

I have never heard such word like sexting so it was really interesting to read about it. Personally I think that this "action" using cell phones is really worthless. It is not a surprise why only young people use it. I would not let my children to do that. Also I think that we should try to do something and do not let that it would existing in our society. But it is only my opinion. Thanks a lot for the interesting information.

Regards,
Peter Giberton from iphone development

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 10/26/2009 - 19:21.

Sexting shouldn't be as big as a deal as it is. Giving a child a felony for sending pictures or "provocative" text messages to some one should be there choice. Of coarse every parent has the right to monitor there child's text messages, but giving a teenager a felony limits their ability to be something , more. I would say "Phone sex" is the same thing but you do the same thing verbally, but you don't sent pictures as often.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 10:04.

do you not realize this is a form of harrassment? a person can be raped and have it on video on someones cell phone and then they send out a broadcast sext... you seem to not be coming from a place of experience but instead you seem quite nieve to what sexting is REALLY about

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 11/12/2009 - 09:17.

Parents Beware - The LAW does take this as a serious offense. My 17 year old son is facing several felonies because of sexting. He was sending and receiving pics from a few girls, who, by the way lied their ages and said they were also 16 or 17, come to find out they were only 13 and 14. Sure there should be consequences, but to be charged with felonies and possibly have to register as a sex offender and ruin his future life is rediculous. Seeing his was the older party in this, he is the only one getting charged, which also not fair. These laws regarding sexting and the having to register as a sex offender need to be changed for all these teenagers facing this issue. The sex offender registry list was not started to punish teens for being teens. I don't know where to start to help make that happen, btw I live in NYS.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 10/18/2009 - 00:21.

No, it should not be a felony for children who view and share pornography on cell phones.
Punish but not disable them. With a felony charge, this brings implications of not getting a job or even voting. They are children - we need to educate them not put them in jail.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 10/05/2009 - 12:15.

Well it's better then them doing it with every one and catching an STD

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 10/17/2009 - 06:41.

this is just leading TOWARDS such things. oh its ok they arent actually doing it. is not the right approach. wear a condom

Submitted by Terrance Davis (not verified) on Fri, 09/18/2009 - 14:47.

Sex is not a toy, treat it with love and respect.

Terrance Davis of Columbia Missouri.....

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 08/18/2009 - 14:38.

you know its hard to try to stop your child from having a cell phone and they will receive nude pictures of people even cartoon people with dirty jokes. how do you stop it . can you block this from a prepaid cell phone.

Submitted by sata (not verified) on Tue, 07/28/2009 - 08:44.

Although I do understand that the court system doesn't really have to make one case a big issue. For example, if a group of minor girls created a sexting prostitution circle that was being sent to legal adults,

Submitted by DAVE (not verified) on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 09:33.

mobile phones are all equiped with call/txt barring. if the parents want their kids to have a cell phone before they're 16 then they can limit their child's connectivity or get over it. it's not the law's responsibility to discipline the youth of the earth.
just like the internet, cell phones are all customizable to accommodate everyone.

AT THE END OF THE DAY.... EVERYONE WILL DO WHAT THEY WANT TO DO. whether there's a law or not so why not use the funds for something more productive, like educating kids ABOUT the severity of such issues or feeding hungry kids in poor countries.... THE HUMAN RACE NEEDS TO PRIORITIZE.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 07/04/2009 - 18:28.

What is the laws definition of SEXTING though? Is it a picture? Or is it even just talking about what you could do?

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 06/26/2009 - 13:11.

sexting also becomes an issue when a kid sends pics of themselves to people over the age of 18. Some kids just send the stuff out to anybody. I don't want to be caught in a situation being over the age of 18 and having some naked kid on my phone.

Submitted by Corin Chu (not verified) on Mon, 06/22/2009 - 19:42.

I think this is fine as long as the people are texting their own kind. Such as minors with minors. As long as no ones a pedophile, I think the law should not get involved. If a parent or guardian feels that it is inappropriate, then that is their choice. But the law should not have to be the ones that state whether or not sexting is okay. Mostly because the people that make such laws are not in this generation and should not speak for us.

Submitted by Mamimi (not verified) on Sun, 05/31/2009 - 23:27.

If a teen wants to "sext" as you so called it, then that is completely on them and their parents. If they send a "provocative" or nude photo willingly and it gets out there to someone they do not intend for it to get to, then in my opinion, that is completely on them. Teens do have the judgment ability to know whether something is right or wrong, or whether something can get them in to trouble. They choose not to use good judgment because they do not believe they can get in trouble for their so called "lack of judgment." This is because of the way kids and teens are babied by their parents and treated as if they can not handle the responsibility of running their own lives.

I believe that this "issue" should be between parents and their children. It is not the responsibility of the court system to punish someone who is still a minor, under the care of their own parents, and only doing what their parents are allowing them to do. Unless they are physically hurting someone, then let them ruin their own lives.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 05/16/2009 - 10:59.

People need to look really hard at themselves before they sext or whatever you want to call it, this isn't a game, it not a picture of you having fun or with your family... It's a picture of yourself in your most personal "form", once you hit that send button the picture is GONE you no longer have control over it! If ur a** of an ex-BF/GF wants to humilate you; well now he/she has something that could ruin your life!it isn't a long process one or two clicks and what you hold most personal can be torn from you, so I say, these laws are mostly absolutely fair! What I don't think is fair is the txting of sensual material, and the actions of the law enforcement system on violators. There needs to be a better way to punish these offenders, and the laws need to be more difinitive, if the violated person doesn't want the other party to get into trouble the why does the law require the offender to get into trouble? Seriously, lives can be ruined by both the laws that protect us, and how they fail to save us!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 04/17/2009 - 09:04.

I dont think this is fair.
We pay our own cell phones bills, they should let us use our phones as we want.'Sexting' is not such a big deal. Isnt it better than them out there really having sex?!
I mean the cell phones arent going to pass around STD's, or get girls pregnant. It doesnt matter what they do, teens arent going to stop being teens.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 10/17/2009 - 06:48.

yeah but if you're a parent then you have the right to PARENT what the hell your child is doing, and you should exercise that right. do you know how long it takes for a picture, even though it has been deleted, to be completely removed from the web? 3 months i think a study said. like one person wrote, your spiteful ex-bf/gf now has incriminating evidence of you. Sexting is a big deal. It is against the law. Teens will be teens but parents need to be parents.

Submitted by Emmy (not verified) on Sun, 06/21/2009 - 22:26.

I understand where you're coming from. We should be allowed to do what we want if we pay for it, to a certain extent. If we pay taxes to, say, fix up a sidewalk and then later, you gang rape and murder a passerby on that very sidewalk that you technically paid for, does that mean it should be legal? No, unless you have a twisted sense of justice in my opinion.
And yes, it doesn't pass around STDs, thank the Lord, but maybe if the sendee thinks the sender is easy, he or she may try and pressure the sender into having sex or maybe even raping them, which can spread an STD.
Also, pictures have been known to spread like wildfire among us with the techy stuff we have literally at our fingertips 24/7. You've probably read about girls who commit suicide from one pic message that spread around his/her friends and she became a joke!
Although I do understand that the court system doesn't really have to make one case a big issue. For example, if a group of minor girls created a sexting prostitution circle that was being sent to legal adults, compared to a girl who sent one nudie pic to her boyfriend, then you know what i think should be potentially taken up in a court...

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 05/28/2009 - 08:03.

You're right, it's better than having sex because no pregnancy or STD issues BUT what do you do when you send that picture to someone who then forwards it and that person forwards it and so on. Eventually the picture ends up in the hands of an individual who is willing to go to any extent to find you? Think it doesn't happen? It does, more often than you believe. Technology is great on one hand but on the other it provides a great deal of access to personal lives and information that doesn't need to be out there. Imagine opening your door one day to see some strange man or woman who wants to "get to know you better" because they saw you naked on myspace? (easy enough to transfer a picture from cell to computer!).

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