Sexting Persecutions
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Cell Phone Sex Criminals?
American criminalization of sex has reaches new levels of foolishness and craziness when teenagers sharing naked photographs of themselves and their friends are charged as sex criminals. Overzealous - or perhaps cynically politicized - prosecutors don’t seem to care if the damage or ruing the lives of innocent teenagers in the grab for glory and headlines.
One quick clue that the criminal justice system is probably not the best venue for addressing the sexting crisis? A survey of the charges brought in the cases reflects that—depending on the jurisdiction—prosecutors have charged the senders of smutty photos, the recipients of smutty photos, those who save the smutty photos, and the hapless forwarders of smutty photos with the same crime: child pornography. Who is the victim here and who is the perpetrator? Everybody and nobody.
What to do about teens and their dumb naked photos of themselves.
