Legal News

A Town, Its Teens, and a Practice Called ?Sexting?

By Ashby Jones

Let’s talk about sexting. As we’ve mentioned before (click here and here), sexting is the practice of sending nude or semi-nude pictures of ones self or others via cell phone. It’s one thing, we suppose, if adults do it, but what’s got parents, students, school administrators, the ACLU and district attorneys riled up is that minors are getting into the act as well. The issue for prosecutors then becomes: should one charge “sexters” with serious crimes, like possession of child pornography, or handle such episodes in a less draconian manner.

The issue is nicely framed in a WSJ story today by Law Blog colleague Dionne Searcey, who shines the spotlight on a sexting kerfuffle that took place in a small Pennsylvania town called Tunkhannock.

The district attorney in Tunkhannock, George Skumanick (pictured), took what some considered to be a progressive approach after a handful of pictures turned up on cell phones at a local high school. He told parents they could either enlist their kids in an education program or have the teens face felony charges of child pornography.

Some legal experts say that Skumanick has expanded the definition of sexting to such an extent he could be setting a dangerous precedent. He has threatened to charge kids who appeared in photos, but who didn’t send them, as well as at least one girl who was photographed wearing a bathing suit.

“The whole tawdry episode seems to call for a little parental guidance and a pop-gun approach, not a Howitzer approach with a felony prosecution,” said Louis Natali, a law professor at Temple University.

Last month, the ACLU and a group of parents sued Skumanick in federal court in Scranton, Pa., alleging he violated the freedom-of-expression rights of three teenage girls.

Others say Skumanick is giving the teens an opportunity to avoid charges, which he could have filed immediately. Some see the alternative of offering classes as appealing. “You don’t want to tag them with a scarlet letter for the rest of their life,” says Shannon Edmonds, a staff attorney at the Texas District and County Attorneys Association, about charging teens with sex crimes.

LB Readers, what do you think? Skumanick calls his approach “progressive,” while others find it ludicrous that criminal charges — especially ones involving child pornography — are even on the table. Any thoughts?

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on April 21, 2009 (boomark / email).