Dr. Patricia Sulak, a Scott & White obstetrician and gynecologist and professor at Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine, cited legal issues surrounding sexting, including instances in which teens have been charged with child pornography possession.
According to an article, in April an 18-year-old Florida man was convicted of sending child pornography after he sent a naked photo of his 16-year-old girlfriend to some family members and friends after an argument. He was sentenced to five years probation and required by Florida law to register as a sex offender.
“There are definitely some anomalies in the law,” Bell County First Assistant District Attorney Murff Bledsoe said. “You’re old enough under Texas law to be tried as an adult and consent at 17, but the law for childhood pornography deals with children 18 and under.
“In essence, you could have someone who’s maybe 18 or 19 years old who could have a picture of a consenting 17-year-old on their phone, and get charged with a crime like possession of childhood pornography,” Bledsoe said. “It’s not something that I can say has ever happened here though, but if we were in the position to pursue it, we would.”
It’s also possible under state law for a 17-year-old to get charged as an adult with childhood pornography possession for obtaining a nude picture of someone under the age of 18.
Even more strange, because of state law, a 13-year-old Denton County boy was charged as a juvenile with child pornography possession last October when an eighth-grade female sent him a nude picture of herself.
According to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy survey, 22 percent of teens indicated they thought that sexting was “no big deal,” and 73 percent thought it could have negative implications.
Bledsoe said he can’t think of any cases where sexting was involved in prosecution, although he did recall one case where an older adult was charged with childhood pornography possession, and there were explicit pictures on a phone - although prosecutors didn’t use them in their case.
“Most of the time, when you’re talking about childhood pornography cases, you’re talking about people who are seeking things on the Internet and using their computers to commit crimes,” Bledsoe said. “But I do think that technology is beginning to move even faster, so you may see more cases involving things like sexting in the future.
“As far as the anomalies go with the law, I have some hope that the state legislators and lawmakers will adapt to the changes in technology, and possibly make things more streamlined in the future,” he said.
