14 Year Old Girl Arrested for Posting Naked Pictures on MySpace
A 14 year old girl was recently arrested in New Jersey for posting nude pictures of herself on MySpace, for her boyfriend to view. The girl is charged with possession of child pornography and distribution of child pornography. If convicted of the crime she will then be a registered sex offender falling under "Megan's Law". This law makes all who are sentenced with it to notify law enforcement of any change of address and employment. Their information is also released to the public, this includes the name, crime, address, and a picture of the offender. The duration of Megan's Law can last anywhere from 10 years to permanently.
While I definitely don't agree with what she did, in no way do I feel she should be prosecuted and burdened with the penalties that the sentence carries. In all actuality she only exploited herself, not any other minors. She should have to go through counseling to help her understand her mistake and grow from it. We are talking about a 14 year who did something she didn't think was wrong, but is possibly going to be punished like an adult who knows what they did was wrong. The intent of sexual predators and what this girl did aren't even remotely similar and shouldn't be judged the same.
I know some will say that this isn't a victimless crime as the pictures can be circulated around the internet once they are posted. Possibly causing pedophiles or others who lurk on social networks such as MySpace or Facebook to try to become friends with that person and get them to send them explicit pictures of themselves. I understand that this is the "in" some pedophiles use to lure minors into doing these types of things.
My issue is, should a child be punished as adults are? The use of a good law to catch and identify sexual predators is being used on a 14 year old who didn't know the consequences of her actions. Especially when we have specific laws and courts in place for minors, because it's known that they don't make decisions and see the world as adults do. Minors don't fully understand the ripple effect of their actions. How do you feel about this issue as it is a growing problem with youth either "sexting" (sending sexual pictures messages over cell phones) or sending explicit pictures over the internet? And how should the problem be dealt with?
While I definitely don't agree with what she did, in no way do I feel she should be prosecuted and burdened with the penalties that the sentence carries. In all actuality she only exploited herself, not any other minors. She should have to go through counseling to help her understand her mistake and grow from it. We are talking about a 14 year who did something she didn't think was wrong, but is possibly going to be punished like an adult who knows what they did was wrong. The intent of sexual predators and what this girl did aren't even remotely similar and shouldn't be judged the same.
I know some will say that this isn't a victimless crime as the pictures can be circulated around the internet once they are posted. Possibly causing pedophiles or others who lurk on social networks such as MySpace or Facebook to try to become friends with that person and get them to send them explicit pictures of themselves. I understand that this is the "in" some pedophiles use to lure minors into doing these types of things.
My issue is, should a child be punished as adults are? The use of a good law to catch and identify sexual predators is being used on a 14 year old who didn't know the consequences of her actions. Especially when we have specific laws and courts in place for minors, because it's known that they don't make decisions and see the world as adults do. Minors don't fully understand the ripple effect of their actions. How do you feel about this issue as it is a growing problem with youth either "sexting" (sending sexual pictures messages over cell phones) or sending explicit pictures over the internet? And how should the problem be dealt with?
Tags: Child Pornography, Internet, Megan's Law, Minors, MySpace, Social Networks
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Pat hopson on -
There is more to this than just exposing herself. She used a government watched site to influence a minor, her boy friend. I just read in your article about the state taking children from their parents for taking bathing pictures. Here is a example of children not being supervised and taught the right lawful things. 14 is not that young. They are arresting 10 year old children for murder. The sad thing about this is that she is that sexual at 14 at all. With sexual acts comes responsibility. I agree that it would be harsh to punish her as an adult, but she did an adult thing. Everyone who puts anything where others can see it is at risk of being looked at by the law and of being charged with a crime whither you know it is wrong or not. That is our justice system. Ignorance is no excuse. I think that we as adults need teach our wards, children and everyone in our care of things that are illegal on these new high/ tech gear.
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Permalink Reply by Orit Pennington on -
Laws are created to protect people. The question is: who is the victim here? In my opinion it is the girl. Sexuality is a normal part of development. What is not normal is our attitude towards it. If we could talk about sexuality in an open way - explaining to children that what they feel is normal, and along with it how to behave in a sexually responsible way - maybe there will be less of these problems. The Parents may have talked to her about it, but she is not alone in this. I've seen pictures like this before from both boys and girls - they send it to each other on their cellphones.
The girl's actions do not encourage pedophiles - they do what they do without any encouragement.
The girl needs education, counseling and help - not punishment. Let's punish the poeple that hurt our children and not our children.
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