Washington state middle school students facing felony charges in “sexting” incident
Three Chinook Middle School students were formally charged in juvenile court with felonies stemming from a "sexting" incident in which they allegedly sent nude photos of a 14-year-old girl via their cell phones, according to the News Tribune. Copies of the photo have spread from phone to phone among a large number of North Thurston middle school students, according to Lacey police. The mother of the alleged victim said that the photo has found its way to Olympia High School. Each of the three students is charged with a single count of dealing in depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The charge is a class C felony, carrying a maximum penalty of 30 days in juvenile detention. Anyone convicted of the offense is required to register as a sex offender.
After breaking up with the victim, her ex-boyfriend sent the photo to one of the girls charged in the case. That girl sent it to the other girl who has been charged, and she sent it to other students, according to police. Thurston County Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Rick Peters agreed Friday that the case is “a situation where the technology is ahead of the legislation.” He said he thinks the Legislature should come up with a law that better fits the wrongdoing committed by juveniles who maliciously spread nude photos of their peers. Peters believes a crime was committed. He said, however, that he doesn’t think consenting teen couples who exchange nude photos of themselves should automatically be arrested, because it “doesn’t really fit the elements of the crime.” But when nude photos of someone are sent and resent multiple times, maliciously and without the consent of the photo’s subject, it rises to the level of a crime, he said.
According to North Thurston Public Schools spokeswoman Courtney Schrieve: “The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy reported last month that a survey of 1,280 teens and young adults found that 20 percent of the teens said they had sent or posted nude or semi-nude photos or videos of themselves. That number was slightly higher for teenage girls – 22 percent – vs. boys – 18 percent.” Schrieve said that the school district is working to educate students and parents about sexting. Middle school teachers at Chinook and Komachin discussed the issue with students in their first-period classes Wednesday, she said. Chinook Principal Kirsten Rae sent a letter home to parents stating that sexting is a serious crime. The school district also has placed automated notification calls to all of its middle school parents explaining what sexting is and that it is a crime, Schrieve said. She added that the district might plan an educational forum or publish educational materials about sexting.
Source: News Tribune, 1/30/10, By Jeremy Pawloski
[Editor’s Note: For an in-depth treatment of the legal standards applicable to sexting, read the current issue of Inquiry & Analysis, published by NSBA’s Council of School Attorneys, and linked below. The articles’ authors, NSBA Senior Staff Attorney Lisa Soronen, Nicole Vitale and Karen A. Haase, include a survey of state statutes. Last month, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported on a case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit involving three Pennsylvania teenage girls threatened with criminal prosecution on pornography charges after taking sexually provocative photos of themselves on their cellphones. A summary of the story is available at the second link below.]
Inquiry and Analysis article on sexting
NSBA School Law pages on Third Circuit appeal