Child Pornographer Faced Charges for Sending Naughty Pictures of Herself

I always wondered what happens when a minor photographs themselves and distributes the material. Now I know.

Source: Wired News

A 15-year-old Ohio girl was arrested [in early October 2008] for sending nude photos of herself to other minors and was facing felony criminal charges for illegally using a minor in nudity-oriented material and for possession of criminal tools. If convicted, the teen could have been forced to register as a sexual offender annually for ten years.

This week the girl, a student at Licking Valley High School in Newark, Ohio, reached an undisclosed agreement with prosecutors to resolve the case. Details were not released, but the teen won't have to register as a sex offender.

The teen allegedly sent the photos to friends via her cell phone after a Licking County prosecutor visited her school to discuss the legal repercussions of possessing or sending pornographic images of minors to others. Another student notified school authorities after she sent the image to friends.

According to Ohio law, possessing material that shows a minor in a state of nudity is a fifth-degree felony. The law provides an exemption for parents or guardians to photograph their unclothed children for certain purposes, but doesn't allow a child to photograph nude pictures of himself.
The statute governing this issue is part of Ohio's version of Megan's Law, which was enacted in 2002.

[snip]

Happy ending for her, I suppose, since she won't have to register as an offender who needs to be protected from people like herself. While she was undoubtedly asking for it by doing it after a lecture by a Licking (lol) county prosecutor warned them against it, I still find it funny they're basically treating her as a child victim and an adult culprit at the same time.



Jam it back in, in the dark.