A new school year means new classes, new friends, and new plans. These plans may include typical high school activities like homecoming, prom, and football games. One high schooler’s plans included being the starting quarterback for his school’s football team, but has found himself benched due to the felony charges he is facing for sexting with his girlfriend. The whole ordeal began when police asked to inspect the teen’s phone as a part of a rape investigation. The teen was not a witness or suspect, but was somehow involved and police were given permission to view the contents of his phone (always a bad idea). While they did not find anything related to the rape case, they found naked pictures the teen had sent to his girlfriend, and the explicit pictures his girlfriend had sent back to him. The two were 16 years old at the time the pictures were taken and sent, and because of their age, they were both charged with Sexual Exploitation of a Child, also known as Possession of Child Pornography. This is not the type of situation this law was designed for.
Sexual Exploitation of a Child in Weld County
The Colorado law definition of Sexual Exploitation of a Child – C.R.S. 18-6-403 – is:
- Causes, induces, entices, or permits a child to engage in, or be used for, any explicit sexual conduct for the making of any sexually exploitative material; or
- Prepares, arranges for, publishes, including but not limited to publishing through digital or electronic means, produces, promotes, makes, sells, finances, offers, exhibits, advertises, deals in, or distributes, including but not limited to distributing through digital or electronic means, any sexually exploitative material; or
- 5 Possesses or controls any sexually exploitative material for any purpose; or
- Possesses with the intent to deal in, sell, or distribute, including but not limited to distributing through digital or electronic means, any sexually exploitative material; or
- Causes, induces, entices, or permits a child to engage in, or be used for, any explicit sexual conduct for the purpose of producing a performance.
According to the law, it does not matter if the person with the sexually explicit material is an adult or a juvenile. The charge remains the same in Weld, Morgan, and Logan County. This is just one of the many examples where the law is a little off, and people are overcharged. The fact is, some teens choose to be sexually active. They have grown up in a world where technology is easily accessible to them, and sexting has become a part of their world. They have no idea it is a felony offense to send or receive nude photos and I’m not sure it really should be in a case like this. To have teenagers facing a permanent felony criminal record and the possibility of registering as a sex offender for exchanging revealing photos with a boyfriend or girlfriend of the same age, seems over the top.
Sexual Exploitation Can Be Charged If You Receive an Unsolicited Text
Not only that, but simply being on the receiving end of a sext can result in these criminal charges. In our culture right now, things go ‘viral’ fast and texts, videos, tweets, and posts are shared at lightening speed if someone finds it funny, embarrassing, insulting, or ridiculous. Your child could be charged with Sexual Exploitation of a Child if someone decided to send a huge group text including an inappropriate picture of a classmate and your child opens it. Again, this shows how poorly worded laws can be misused by police.
Have you been charged with Sexual Exploitation of a Child? Contact the experienced criminal defense lawyers from the O’Malley Law Office to defend you today!
Have you been charged with Sexual Exploitation of a Child? Contact the experienced criminal defense lawyers from the O’Malley Law Office to defend you today!
The described above is beyond a question of what is morally correct. It is an issue that needs to be discussed between parents and their kids. For me, this boils down to one issue: are kids becoming collateral damage in the execution of this law? I truly don’t believe the law was passed to punish teenagers in situations like the one above.
If you or your child has been charged with Sexual Exploitation of a Child in Greeley, Erie, or Evans, be smart, exercise your right to remain silent, and contact the best criminal defense attorneys from the O’Malley Law Office at (970) 616-6009 to schedule a free consultation. Together, we can protect your future.
Image Credit: Pixabay – FirmBee