Rachel was in seventh grade when she got her first sext request. She didn't "I drew a picture and was like, 'Here they are! Like the girl whose fully naked likeness landed in Rachel's inbox a few years back.
The boy who'd originally received the picture, Rachel remembers, forwarded the image to another girl who circulated it all over town. In fact, while few students will cop to having sexted—loosely defined as having sent a sexual photo, video, or text message via cell phone—a greater number will admit to having received, or at least viewed, someone else's sext.
And while passing along a revealing photo of another person is obviously incredibly cruel, what most teens don't know is that forwarding or receiving a sext even one you didn't ask for can get you in trouble.
In recent years more than 20 states—including California, New York, and New Jersey—have introduced laws aimed at teens caught sexting. Sexually explicit images of under-eighteen-year-olds are considered child pornography; depending on the state's laws, district attorneys may prosecute anyone who's gotten hold of such a picture, from the subject and photographer to the distributors and recipients.
Other child porn offenses — promoting minor sexual conduct, creating or filming the material, transmitting it, and so forth — may be punishable by up to years in jail and a sizable fine. If convicted, an individual must register as a sex offender. In , the state passed a law to criminalize underage sexting. However, individuals under 18 may have an affirmative defense against a charge of underage sexting if they received the sexually explicit materials from a minor of at least 15 years of age via text message and the minor depicted voluntarily created the image.
Individuals who distribute the image may be subject to a charge of child pornography. Taking a photo or video of a minor engaging in sexual activity is still a crime, even if the person in the photo is a minor. He or she will also need to register as a sex offender. The State of Nevada has, as of July , a sexting law that applies to minors found to be sexting.
A minor caught sexting may be treated as a child in need of supervision instead of a criminal for a first-time offense, though a second offense may likely be charged as a misdemeanor. A minor in possession of a sexually explicit image of another minor will likely not be prosecuted if the minor in possession did not request the image and took reasonable steps to delete the images.
Under the new law, minors engaged in sexting do not have to register as sex offenders. Possession or purchase of child porn is punishable by up to 20 years in prison if convicted, though there are some exceptions to charges. Publishing sexually explicit material involving minors is punishable by up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
Creating or manufacturing such material is punishable by up to 30 years in prison. A conviction will require sex offender registration. New Jersey has a sexting law that pertains to minors. If caught, minors can avoid prosecution under the New Jersey Endangering Welfare of Children law and will be required to attend a state-sponsored educational program geared towards educating minors about the dangers of sexting.
Only teenagers under the age of 18 are eligible for this program, and only a first-time offense will benefit from the educational program. Subsequent acts may be diverted or referred to court action depending on the situation. New Mexico does not have a sexting law and does not make exceptions for minors. Intentional possession of sexual material involving a minor is punishable by up to 18 months in jail. Distribution is punishable by up to three 3 years in jail. Encouraging or permitting a minor to participate in sexual situations is punishable by up to three 3 years in jail, unless the child is under the age of 13, in which case an individual faces up to nine 9 years in jail.
Production of sexually explicit material involving minors is punishable by up to nine 9 years in jail. All offenses require sex offender registration if convicted. New York State law is one of the most lenient around sexting. In , an underage sexting law was passed where two individuals engaging in sexting must both be under the age of 20 and be within five 5 years of age from each other.
Both parties will be required to participate in an education reform program of eight 8 hours to learn about the consequences of sexting. North Carolina does not have a sexting law. Possession of sexually explicit material involving a minor is considered third degree sexual exploitation of a child, a class F felony.
If convicted, a defendant faces up to six 6 years in prison. Distributing, purchasing, or receiving such material is considered second degree sexual exploitation of a child — a class E felony punishable by up to nine 9 years in prison. Convictions for either degree require sex offender registration. As of , North Dakota has a sexting-related law that reduces possession, distribution, or creation of a sexually expressive image to a misdemeanor, regardless of the age of the person in question.
If an individual is convicted under the sexting statute, he or she will not be required to register as a sex offender. Prior to this, any individual caught sending or receiving explicit images of a minor would be charged with a felony under the child pornography laws in North Dakota. Ohio does not currently have a sexting law. Child pornography laws in Ohio also are punishable by up to eight 8 years in jail and a fine.
House Bill passed the House in Ohio back in , which would incorporate a sexting statute that would decrease the charge for minors to a misdemeanor; however, this went to the Senate and was not passed there. Oklahoma has a sexting law that passed in Any minor under the age of 18 engaging in sexting images or videos of another minor under the age of 18 but over the age of 13 may be charged with a misdemeanor.
These penalties apply regardless of whether or not the person sexting the image is the same person depicted in the image. If a minor received a sext but did not request it and did not distribute it, he or she may have a defense against the charges. Under current laws, anyone who creates, possesses, or distributes sexually explicit material of a minor may be charged with child pornography in Oregon. There have been some legislative proposals to decrease the penalties for minors caught sexting, but it has not been passed.
Possession of sexually explicit material depicting a minor is considered third-degree encouraging child sexual abuse. As of October , the transmission of sexually explicit images depicting a minor by a minor is a summary offense. It is a misdemeanor to send a sexually explicit image of a minor other than oneself. The punishments for these offenses are typically a diversionary program and possibly participating and successful completion of an educational program.
Rhode Island does have a sexting law, and the statute outlines that a minor transmitting a sexually explicit image of his or herself to another person is a status offense in family court and will not be required to register as a sex offender. This law only applies to a person sending photos of his or herself. Both would require sex offender registration.
South Carolina does not have a sexting law, but has proposed a bill in to handle underage sexting. Currently, possessing an image of a minor engaged in a sexual act is charged as third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, punishable by up to 10 years in jail. Creating or distributing sexually explicit material depicting a minor is considered second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor and is punishable by up to 10 years in jail. As of , the bill has not moved out of the South Carolina State Senate to reduce the charge for a minor to a misdemeanor.
South Dakota does have a specific sexting statute as of It is a misdemeanor for a minor to possess or transmit sexually indecent images of a minor.
If a minor who has received a sext did not solicit the image or video, did not distribute it to anyone, and tried to delete the image, he or she has an affirmative defense. Prior to this, minors were charged as adults would be for possession or transmission of sexually explicit material of a minor.
A child porn conviction in Tennessee requires an individual to register as a sex offender. In Texas, underage sexting is a misdemeanor, with second and subsequent offenses carrying greater penalties if convicted. A minor may be sentenced to community supervision and required to complete an educational program paid for by his or her parents. If a minor receives a sexually explicit image of another minor, did not request it, and tried to delete the image, he or she may have an affirmative defense.
Utah was one of the first states to pass a law about sexting back in It is considered a misdemeanor offense for minors to engage in sexting provided that it is the first offense. Subsequent offenses are charged as felonies. Vermont has a specific statute pertaining to minors engaged in sexting. They will be adjudicated delinquent and referred to juvenile diversion for a first-time offense. A second or subsequent offense may be charged as a crime for the sexual exploitation of children, but will not have to register as sex offenders.
Criminal records can be expunged when minors charged with sexting turn If a minor receives a sext but deletes the image, he or she may have a defense against the charges. Virginia does not currently have a sexting law. Furthermore, these are separate felony charges and may be charged as up to three separate felonies. It does not matter if a minor took a photo or video of his or herself — the charge may be punishable by up to 20 years in prison if the minor depicted is 15 years of age or older, or up to 30 years in prison if the minor is under the age of Possession of child pornography is a class 6 felony punishable by up to five 5 years in prison.
Distribution is punishable by up to 20 years in prison. There are currently no laws in Washington State regulating sexting. Exposing or distributing very personal photos of someone without his or her consent is a violation of trust, and possibly, the law. With revenge porn the motive can be to embarrass, intimidate or harass the victim or there can be other motives. Revenge porn images are sometimes taken with the consent of the victim, which may be legal, but — in many states — become a crime if they are distributed without his or her consent.
Sextortion can also involve such images but can also result from hidden cameras, hacking or other surreptitious means of obtaining the images. To some extent, what to do depends on your age. That means that, if a student tells a trusted teacher about sexting photos, the teacher is required by law to report that information to law enforcement. They need to know that, if you took the photos and they report them to the police, they could potentially cause criminal charges to be brought against the people involved.
So in situations involving someone under 18, a good start might be seeking advice anonymously see the first option below. These can be found all over the US and in many other countries. This is a good option if you prefer to remain anonymous while exploring how to proceed, and crisis lines can often refer you to a victim advocate or other legal adviser near you.
In the U.
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