Thinking of 'sexting?' Think of being arrested JENA STEINMETZ

Sexual exploitation of young people is an issue of high importance and controversy.

[Kris in Allentown]

Jennifer Mann (Democrat Representative for PA) recently introduced a bill to expand child pornography definitions to include people who knowingly send illegal photos or own illegal material. This could have impact on these cases.

Are the prosecutors going too far? Perhaps, but I must disagree when you say that these photos were meant "...to be seen by one person, usually a supposedly trusted friend." You and I both know that these suggestive photos were to be sent to boys. Here is why I "side" with prosecutors: it is impossible to permanently delete a photo from your cell phone. Technology has advanced so that no data is ever "permanently" erased. Young men who may, or may not, have wanted to see such images are being charged with pornography possession. The immature actions of these young women are sending young men to prison. These young women MUST be held accountable for their actions.

Now, I agree...there are problems with the legal system concerning the actions of teenagers and sexuality, and I think this will set a precedent. If a 16 year old girl obtains a bottle of liquor and gives it to a 17 or 18 year old boy, they both get in legal trouble. So why should it be any different if the illegal material was a pornographic photo rather than a bottle of liquor? It shouldn't. Illegal at an age for boys should be illegal at an age for girls. If you furnish illegal material, you should be held liable for the consequences.

[Better Yet]

Collect the cell phones from the teens.

Think of how their grades and driving would improve.

[mmm__cheesesteak]

question. what happens if an adult sends nude pic to another adult in trust of only that person seeing it, then it gets into the public? charges?

16 yr old makes out with another 16 yr old- no one cares.
16 yr old knocks up another 16 yr old-family cares
16 yr old sends nude pic of themselves to another 16 yr old- whole world "send them to jail"

kids want to be adults, and we all tell them they are responsible enough to drive, handle school work, jobs and generally make their own decisions through life. we've taught sex ed since they were in 5th grade, and hold social events like dances and school parties. but has anyone asked the kids what they feel is appropriate for the situation? All us adults have been sitting on here judging the teens actions with no question of true guidelines for the kids.
Growing up is awkward, especially if the whole school just saw a naked picture of you. how and where do we draw the line? has this gone too far, or is it just some teenagers trying to be what they see on TV and in society?
i'm not trying to preach, but i know i did some crazy stuff when i was in highschool

[mmm__cheesesteak]

also, is it illegal for an under age person to take a nude pic and keep it to themselves?
or is it the distribution that's illegal

[Better Yet]

Cellphone = wireless = public venue = interceptable = reproducible a zillion times over = permanent embarassment = don't send anything you don't want your Mommy to see.

The fault is all the sender's. If it never went out in the first place, no problem.

I agree that any legal penalties [fines, jail] should accrue to the sender [or re-transmitter] of the material.

[haha]

I could be mistaken, but I thought the PA case wasn't even about "explicit" pics...it was merely "suggestive" pics (ie girls taking pictures of themselves in bras), and that's why there was such an uproar about it by the ACLU...there was nothing illegal in the pictures and the DA just wanted to enforce his morality on others.

[John D]

Jena.. please sextext me.

[Kris in Allentown]

mmm__cheesesteak wrote:

also, is it illegal for an under age person to take a nude pic and keep it to themselves?
or is it the distribution that's illegal

it is the distribution that is illegal, but it could (if this bill is passed) be the ownership of the material.

[JoisyGirl]

So silly. No one remembers the days before digital cameras & cellphones when some people would actually take nude photos of themselves with a 35 mm, or even a 110 God forbid, & then bring them to the local photomat to be developed ?? It wasn't uncommon for the guys processing the film to make copies & distribute them as they saw fit. Situations like this were in the paper often back then. Personally, I don't see the reason for a phone that takes pictures & connects people to the net but oh well.

[kooky]

JoisyGirl wrote:

So silly. No one remembers the days before digital cameras & cellphones when some people would actually take nude photos of themselves with a 35 mm, or even a 110 God forbid, & then bring them to the local photomat to be developed ?? It wasn't uncommon for the guys processing the film to make copies & distribute them as they saw fit. Situations like this were in the paper often back then. Personally, I don't see the reason for a phone that takes pictures & connects people to the net but oh well.

You don't need a phone since you never leave your house.

[mmm__cheesesteak]

kooky wrote:

<quoted text>
You don't need a phone since you never leave your house.

if someone didnt leave their house ever, wouldnt it make just as much sense for them to have some sort of contact with the outside world. like a phone

[mmm__cheesesteak]

frostie71 wrote:

if an underage person sends a nude pic of themselves to another underage person it should not be considered child porn..any person of any age is free to express themselves in any way they feel..this country has become far far too uptight..and "sexting" isnt only popular with kids,its popular with adults as well..

popular with adults? yeh it is! thank you nurses at unmentioned hospital!

[From Bethlehem]

I agree, this is all too much. What kids do with other kids is between them. If they are modeling adult behavior then the parents and adults around them are to blame, not so much the kids.

Here is a thought. Instead of pressing charges against these naive teens how about being respectful of their individuality and stepping in to teach them about the risks of dehumanization and the value of self respect.

Aren't these laws SUPPOSED to be used to prevent child abuse? We still have pervert teachers and adults crawling out of the woodwork yet ypu all want to prosecute kids... for being normal kids! What a disgusting abuse of power. Everyone involved is getting voted out by me as soon as possible

[RonMania]

Better Yet wrote:

Collect the cell phones from the teens.
Think of how their grades and driving would improve.

Very Good, how true! I was thinking about "Sexting" but I can't remember to who??

[JoisyGirl]

kooky wrote:

<quoted text>
You don't need a phone since you never leave your house.

Changing screenames constantly & following me around doesn't make you right about anything. Grow a set & create an account on here instead of hiding behind various names like a coward. You don't like me yet you keep following me around on here & communicating with me. Until you grow a spine & create an account you will be on ignore. You'll respond to this post too of course since you just can't help yourself. Meet Saint Ignora, coward.

[Freedom fighter]

John D wrote:

Jena.. please sextext me.

Me too i'm curious.

[Amused Crack-er]

JoisyGirl wrote:

So silly. No one remembers the days before digital cameras & cellphones when some people would actually take nude photos of themselves with a 35 mm, or even a 110 God forbid, & then bring them to the local photomat to be developed ?? It wasn't uncommon for the guys processing the film to make copies & distribute them as they saw fit. Situations like this were in the paper often back then. Personally, I don't see the reason for a phone that takes pictures & connects people to the net but oh well.

Back "in the day," only the foolish used a 35mm or a 110 camera. The smart ones used a Polaroid!:)

[JoisyGirl]

Amused Crack-er wrote:

<quoted text>
Back "in the day," only the foolish used a 35mm or a 110 camera. The smart ones used a Polaroid!:)

lol that's true, but that's why those cases made the paper, I remember reading about it a few times & thinking just that, why didn't they use the Polaroid then they wouldn't have to bring it to get developed.

[Real Chicagoan]

Once agin parents dropping the ball and not teaching their sprogs that
a. anything you send digitally to others can be sent to a bajillion people.( computing & internet 101.)

b. possessing sexy or naked pics of ANYONE UNDER 18 is child porn.(how long has this law been in affect? oh yeah. TONS of years)

don't like the law? work to change it.

[Mr K]

Here we go again, government intruding into private areas, as it has done in the past. We seem to have a hangup with sex which is strange considering that we use sex to sell everything from cars to toothpaste. Teenagers in their bras shouldn't shock anyone. Just go to any municipal pool and you will see a lot more than on any of those text messages. It is apparent that our law enforcement people (especially our DA's) don't have enough to do.