As of July 2015, 20 states have passed laws related to sexting.8 Four states (Hawaii, New York, Pennsylvania, and South Dakota) enacted legislation in 2012. She also emphasized the role of child psychologists and psychiatrists in educating teenagers and their families. Case examples are used to illustrate the range of legal outcomes, from felony charges to no charges. On September 12, 2009, Miss Witsell hanged herself in her bedroom. Searching police reports, online forums, hotline reports, or even hypothetical vignettes for teens could help establish more accurate estimates of prevalence.10, In sum, research from >40 studies to date suggests that teen sexting is common, is often consensual, increases with age, and is on the rise likely because of the increase in smartphone ownership in teens and greater acceptance among teens of pursuing sexual intimacy online.6, A consensus of experts has concluded that teen sexting is a modern form of flirting or romantic overture.6,13,18,24,32 Sexting appears to most often be done consensually compared with nonconsensually,8 and only a small minority of adolescent girls and boys report being coerced to sext.14,33 Although consensual sexting it is not known to be initially harmful to either party, the act of sexting does carry the risk of prosecution in many states as well as the risk of future nonconsensual dissemination of sexual images. Ethical Considerations for Mental Health Clinicians Working with Adolescents in the Digital Age. Every state varies in its degree of enforcement but every state does have some form of sexting law in place. Dec. LEXIS 403 (Pa. Cnty Ct. 2012), In re JP, 2012-Ohio-1451, 2012 Ohio App. Sexting and its relation to sexual activity and sexual risk behavior in a national survey of adolescents. Tech-savvy users can retrieve the images by using software programs, and there are now other cell phone applications designed to save the images and messages sent using Snapchat.33 Some teens have been caught using a cellphone to photograph another cellphone screen or to take a screenshot of the image as it was being viewed. at 244). This conviction would come with a sentence of 5 to 20 years' imprisonment and fines up $100,000. Epub 2018 Dec 6. A 2012 national telephone survey of 1,560 youths between the ages of 10 and 17 found that 2.5 percent of youths had appeared in or created nude or nearly nude self-images or videos within the prior year.3 Of the youths who participated in the survey, 7.1 percent said they had received nude or nearly nude images of others. A second defense is when only 1 teen is depicted, he or she knowingly and voluntarily participated in the production of the image without any coercion, and there was no distribution. Understanding a school's policies and procedures for handling these types of questions and determining whether the school followed its own policies is relevant for such an evaluation. Teenagers who engage in sexting should not face the same legal and moral condemnation [Ref. Bd. In those cases in which charges were filed, 62 percent had juveniles charged with felonies related to sexting, of which 84 percent had been charged with felony child pornography production. Lawyers for the three teenagers reached an agreement in which the charges were reduced from a child pornography felony to a misdemeanor of telephone harassment. She was also banned from using a cellular telephone for six months. The court reasoned that a teenager of ordinary intelligence would understand that the possession of child pornography is illegal. Sexting scripts in adolescent relationships: is sexting becoming the norm? Are there differential consequences for boys and girls who engage in sexting?6,12,13 Do outcomes differ according to the type or content of material sexted? When appropriate, the evaluator may consider using empirically validated actuarial tools that may be used to estimate risk of recidivism (e.g., Estimate of Risk of Adolescent Sexual Offense Recidivism (ERASOR)36; Juvenile Sexual Offense Recidivism Risk Assessment Tool-II (J-SORRAT-II)37; or Juvenile Sex Offender Assessment Protocol-II (J-SOAP-II)38). Similarly, in those rare instances in which minors may go beyond producing sexual images of themselves and choose to disseminate them to adults or coerce other minors to submit to sex and filming, prosecution may be appropriate. In his ruling, Rice County District Judge John Cajacob wrote that the states child pornography statute is designed to protect children from victimization and that punishing the girl for sending sexual images of herself produces an absurd, unreasonable, and unjust result that utterly confounds the stated purpose of the statute. He went on to say that the punishment is vastly disproportionate to this girls crime. This court cannot see how subjecting [the girl] to registering as a sexual offender would protect her or teach her anything but that the justice system is cruel and unjust. Naked 'selfies'. 3. In the context of flirting or a romantic relationship, this may be completely innocuous. Examples Illustrating Content of Statutes Addressing Sexting and Minors. Bear in mind, that only reports how many students admitted to doing it, so the number is probably even higher than what Drexel identified. Dr. McNeil is Professor of Clinical Psychology, Department of Psychiatry, and Dr. Binder is Professor of Psychiatry, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA. (Reprinted with permission from Ken Stalter, JD. E-mail: Search for other works by this author on: National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Civil remedy for personal injuries, 18 USC 2255(2)(E), Sexual exploitation of children, 18 USC 2251. Are there certain conditions when teen sexting has fewer consequences? Studies have shown that sexting is associated with incidences of increased sexual behavior. As discussed above, there are multiple examples of young adults being given harsh sentences that include registering as sex offenders when they were not significantly older than the subject in the text message. However, the study included sexually explicit written messages, as well as transmitted images. A 2012 study of 1,839 youths age 14 to 17 indicated that 15 percent had engaged in sexting.5 Participants with the highest rates included older adolescents, African Americans, and lesbian, bisexual, gay or transgender (LBGT) adolescents. In these cases, the evaluator may be asked to address questions of liability and determine whether the emotional distress could have been prevented or minimized. The boy and the two girls who had initially forwarded the image were formally charged with dissemination of child pornography, a Class C felony.30 If the three students had been convicted of dissemination of child pornography, they could have been sentenced to 36 weeks in a juvenile detention center and would be registered as sex offenders. She was sentenced to 30 days in detention, but the sentence was suspended. Contact: If you are under 18: Youth Legal Advice Hotline, Legal Aid Queensland 1800 LAQ LAQ (1800 527 527) legalaid.qld.gov.au. The study reported that teens who are more frequent users of cell phones are more likely to receive sexually suggestive images. The girl forwarded it to everyone in her contact list. The number of results most likely demonstrates the relatively low number of cases involving sexting that have reached the appeals level. Writing for the court, Judge Steinberg noted: Teen sexts that have been requested or accessed by an adult: We argue that this behavior fits within the traditional definition of child pornography except in Romeo and Juliet cases, in which a statute prohibits prosecution or provides an affirmative defense to prosecution if the parties are close enough in age as defined by the statute. US Supreme Court decisions suggest that a shift from the 23 states stance of adhering to child pornography laws to address sexting is indicated. South Dakota also specified that it would be an affirmative defense if the minor had not solicited the visual depiction and does not subsequently distribute, present, transmit, post, print, disseminate, or exchange the visual depiction, and that the minor deletes or destroys the visual depiction upon receipt. Creating an image of oneself without ever distributing the image was also established as an affirmative defense. In Iowa, an 18-year-old was convicted of knowingly disseminating obscene material to a minor.31 This young adult texted a photograph of his face and another of his genitals to a 14-year-old female friend. The trial court dismissed the charges related to sexual abuse of children because the child pornography statutes when applied to teenage sexting failed to provide a teenager of ordinary intelligence fair notice of what is prohibited. The appeals court dismissed the charges because of the vagueness of the penal codes as applied to the defendant. There can also be serious implications for the victim's mental health. During the evaluation, questions specific to the charged offense should include chronicity, the targets of the offenses, the individual's and victim's account of the offense, potential motivators, and any previously undetected sexually abusive behaviors.35 History of mental illness or symptoms of mental illness at the time of the offense must be taken into consideration. Finally, the study reported that sexting occurs most often in one of three scenarios: exchanges of images between two romantic partners, exchanges between partners that are then shared outside the relationship, and exchanges between people who are not yet in a relationship, but where one person hopes to be.2. Remember, if you have questions about sexting you can always call Kids Help Phone at 1-800-668-6868. Even adults who have obtained self-produced teen images may merit prosecution, subject to any Romeo and Juliettype exception or affirmative defense. Sexting has become very popular among teenagers and even tweens. 76.2% of teens who were propositioned to sext admitted to having had sexual intercourse. Sexting behaviors can have legal, sociological, and/or psychological implications for the sender, receiver, and forwarder. of Educ., 2012 U.S. Dist. In 2010, two 14-year-old eighth graders in Olympia, Washington, were flirting by text message when the girl took a naked self-image and texted it to the boy.30 A few weeks later, a former friend of the girl convinced the boy to send her the photo. A 2009 telephone survey from the Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Project found that 4 percent of cell phoneowning youths aged 12 to 17 endorsed having sent sexually suggestive nude or nearly nude images or videos of themselves to someone via text message.2 Of the 800 young people surveyed in 3 cities, 15 percent indicated they have received such images of someone they know via text message. Because transferring and viewing sexually explicit material when the subject is a minor can be considered child pornography, there can be serious legal consequences. A Systematic Literature Review and Meta-Analysis. Crimes involving indecent images of children. If the sexually explicit image was of a child under 12, felony charges were generally brought. Sexting that occurs within an existing or committed teen relationship may include less coercion and fewer health risk behaviors. Several researchers have identified an urgent need to clarify the characteristics of those who sext, the conditions under which sexting occurs safely versus harmfully, as well as the possible consequences of teen sexting in terms of concerning physical (eg, early sexual debut) and mental health outcomes (eg, depression, anxiety, and delinquency).10,11 Pressing questions in the field include the following: When does sexting typically begin? The law is there to protect people and stop this from happening. FOIA If there is a significant age, maturity level, or power differential between the plaintiff and the defendant, it may be advisable to use a forensic interview structure intended for children who are the victims of sexual abuse. 21]. ), How states approach teen sexting: map. Klettke et al. Nevertheless, pediatricians, child psychologists, and other teen-focused health care providers would agree that this behavior does not rise to the level of severe criminal behavior potentially requiring many years of incarceration and permanent sexual offender status. A legal implication can either be positive or negative. Half of them had cases sent to diversion, 26 percent had cases ending in dismissal of charges, and 4 percent had gone to criminal trial. Teenagers would understand that laws were enacted to protect children, prevent abuse and exploitation, and stop the production and supply of child pornography. By contrast, an appeals court in Ohio in 2012 denied the claim that statutes are vague and charges should be dropped.25 A 13-year-old female juvenile defendant sent nude self-images to a juvenile male. Up to 5 years in prison or 2.5 years in jail. 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