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"Rethinking Sex Offender Laws for Teenage Texting"

By Douglas A. Berman

The title of this post is the headline of this new New York Times article.  Here is an excerpt: In most states, teenagers who send or receive sexually explicit photographs by cellphone or computer ? known as ?sexting? ? have risked felony child pornography charges and being listed on a sex offender registry for decades to come. But there is growing consensus among lawyers and legislators that the child pornography laws are too blunt an instrument to deal with an adolescent cyberculture in which all kinds of sexual pictures circulate on sites like MySpace and Facebook. Last year, Nebraska, Utah and Vermont changed their laws to reduce penalties for teenagers who engage in such activities, and this year, according to the National Council on State Legislatures, 14 more states are considering legislation that would treat young people who engage in sexting differently from adult pornographers and sexual predators...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on March 20, 2010 (boomark / email).