By: Mandy, MSW, LSW
Jennifer
has potentially committed 3 felonies:
creation, dissemination, and possession of child pornography. Adam has
potentially committed 2 felonies:
solicitation and possession of child pornography. If he sends the photo to a
friend, he now qualifies for a felony for dissemination. Each felony comes with
a minimum fine of $2,000 and a minimum sentence of four years in prison. That
potentially equates to $6,000 in fines and 12 years in prison for Jennifer and
$4,000 in fines and 8 years in prison for Adam (assuming he did not send the
picture to any of his friends).
After
completing their prison sentences, both Adam and Jennifer would have to
register with the national sex offenders’ database. Not registering would
result in ANOTHER felony. Once registered, anyone would be able to search the
website and find them along with their crimes of “child pornography” listed
there. The law makes no distinction between a 16-year-old girl who consents to
taking a semi-nude picture of herself and an adult who photographs or videos
children forced to commit a sex act.
As
registered sex offenders, Adam and Jennifer would be banned from school grounds
and parks. They could not participate in park district activities. Many
colleges would not accept them, and they would be barred from any career that
would involve working with minors; they could not be teachers, daycare workers,
therapists, or pediatricians. They could not volunteer at their children’s
school or coach their little league teams. The charges would show up on every
background check conducted for every job they ever apply for.
As
you can see, sexting (sending a nude or semi-nude photograph via text message)
has the potential to ruin a child’s life forever. Students must be educated on
the legal risks and consequences of sexting, and it needs to be made clear that
once a photo is posted online or texted to someone, they can NEVER take it
back.
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