老澳门开奖结果

In an early episode of the television series 鈥淕irls,鈥� Adam sends Hannah a photo of his penis and then a text message: 鈥淪RY that wasn鈥檛 for you.鈥�

Hannah and her friends debate the intention of Adam鈥檚 actions, but one thing is clear: The explicit photo he sent isn鈥檛 unusual, and it certainly isn鈥檛 criminal.

Had he lived in the state of Washington, been under 18 鈥� and, of course, been a real person 鈥� Adam might have been branded a sex offender. In Washington, minors who engage in the common teen behavior known as sexting can be prosecuted under the state鈥檚 child pornography law.

To suggest that a juvenile who sends a sexually explicit selfie is a victim of his own act of child pornography is absurd, but that鈥檚 exactly what a trial court in Spokane County has done.

This much should be obvious: Selfies taken by minors are not child pornography.

When he was 17, E.G. sent a text message with a photograph of his erect penis to a young adult woman he knew through his mother. The woman reported the incident to police, and the prosecutor chose to charge E.G. with the felony sex offense of dealing in depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct 鈥� a law typically used to prosecute child pornographers.

That鈥檚 right: E.G. was named as both the perpetrator and the victim of the crime of child pornography. He was convicted and required to register as a sex offender after the trial court rejected a motion to dismiss for insufficient evidence.

The 老澳门开奖结果 of Washington has in State of Washington v. E.G. asking the state court of appeals to reverse the trial court decision and dismiss E.G.鈥檚 conviction.

The purpose of Washington鈥檚 child pornography law is to prevent minors from being sexually exploited or abused for someone else鈥檚 personal gratification or commercial gain, not to criminalize young people for experimenting with their sexuality.

This much should be obvious: Selfies taken by minors are not child pornography. No crime is being committed when a teen photographs himself of his own volition. Nudity alone is not criminalized, even among minors.

What E.G. did is actually fairly common behavior among young people today. The average teen approximately 60 text messages every day. Among teens who have sent nude or semi-nude text messages, 66 percent of girls and 60 percent of boys they did so to be 鈥渇un or flirtatious,鈥� and 40 percent of girls they sent sexually suggestive texts as a 鈥渏oke,鈥� much like Hannah does, later in the episode.

Criminal justice officials are beginning to recognize that child pornography laws are not meant to address teen sexting. The president of the National District Attorneys Association prosecutors to use their discretion to avoid criminal charges in many such cases. Courts are also finding that sexting should not be handled through child pornography prosecutions. And 20 states 鈥� but not Washington 鈥� that provide a range of charging and sentencing alternatives to prosecutors that avoid the sledgehammer impact of a felony child pornography charge and conviction in sexting cases.

It鈥檚 time for Washington鈥檚 courts to appreciate what a five-year-old scene from 鈥淕irls鈥� implies: Sending a sexually explicit selfie may be immature or unwise, but it鈥檚 only human to behave that way sometimes.