A proposed Colorado bill to reduced teen sexting charges from felony child pornography charges to a misdemeanor is facing opposition, but for a reasonthat might surprise you.
On the surface, reducing teen sexting charges for minors who distribute sexually explicit images of themselves seems to be a step toward common sense.After all, cases of 16- and 17-year-olds facing felony sex crime charges for sending semi-nude or sexually suggestive images of themselves to boyfriendsand girlfriends certainly seemed excessive.
However, under federal law, child pornography is defined as sexually explicit images of minors under the age of 18. Federal child porn laws--and subsequently,state child porn laws--made no exceptions and offered no loopholes for sexting of minors among their own peer group. As is often the case, legislationis slow to keep up with technology.
After teens began being prosecuted as adults in child pornography cases, there was a backlash. After all, teens are not motivated by the same drives andcompulsions as adults, and their brains are not fully developed to understand the consequences of every action. Furthermore, these were not cases ofadults preying on children in production and distribution of child pornography. Rather, these were cases in which a teen served as both perpetratorand his or her own "victim." The consequences of adult child pornography conviction were simply too great for the offense.
Many states, including Oklahoma, enacted laws that would change the way teen sexting was prosecuted. In many cases, sexting among teens is a misdemeanorpunishable by fine only.
Colorado has proposed a bill which would also reduce teen sexting from felony to misdemeanor status, and some are fighting the measure--not because theydo not believe felony charges are too harsh, but because they fear misdemeanor status will lead to even more prosecutions.
Amy Hasinoff, assistant professor and author of Sexting Panic: Rethinking Criminalization, Privacy and Consent, says that state prosecutorsunderstand that the felony child porn charges are excessive in teen sexting cases, and therefore they are hesitant to file any charges at all inthese cases. However, when the offense becomes a misdemeanor, it will make the issue "a lot worse."More teens could be prosecuted than ever before.
Should states enact laws to reduce the penalties for teen sexting? Should consensual distribution of sexually explicit images of minors even be a crime?What are your thoughts on teen sexting and associated penalties?
