Jim Liebelt's Youth Culture Watch

Teens Sue High School That Punished Them for Racy MySpace Pics

I was waiting to see an article along these lines show up, where teenagers end up suing someone or some entity for being punished over sexting...and here it is. I'm sure it's not the first case and I'm sure it won't be the last. In this case, there's no question about what the teens did. They posted racy photos to their MySpace profiles. Those pictures ended up in the hands of their high school's principal. The principal acted in accordance with school policy and punished the girls by not allowing them to participate from fall semester extracurricular activities.

The girls (with the help of the ACLU) have now sued the school and principal claiming that their rights of expression have been violated and that their actions had no effect or impact on the school.

What do you think should happen?

I do believe that some students who have sexted or posted racy photos of themselves on their social networking profiles have been treated too harshly (through criminal prosecution.) But, it does seem reasonable to me for schools to set behavioral expectations that apply to students whether or not they are on campus. Suspension from a semester's worth of extracurricular activities does not strike me as excessive punishment either.

And what might be the result to the broader culture should students who sue win cases like this one?

Two Indiana teenagers have sued their school district after they were punished for posting suggestive photos on MySpace.

The girls, 10th-graders at Churubusco High School in Churubusco, Indiana, say they were humiliated after the school banned them from fall semester extracurricular activities and forced them to apologize to the all-male Athletics Board (composed of varsity coaches). The girls also had to attend three counseling sessions.

The American Civil Liberties Union has filed the proposed class-action suit on behalf of the girls and all present and future students at the school who participate or may participate in extracurricular activities. The ACLU argues the district violated the girls’ First Amendment rights and should not have punished them for activities conducted outside school. The suit names the girls’ high school, school district and principal.

According to the school’s student handbook, the principal “may exclude any student-athlete from representing Churubusco High School if his/her conduct in or out of school reflects discredit” upon the school or creates a “disruptive influence on the discipline, good order, moral, or educational environment” at the school.

The ACLU says the photos were meant to be a joke shared among friends and had “no effect on the school whatsoever.” The girls’ self-expression has been curbed as a result of the school’s activity, the suit alleges.

Source: Wired
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/11/teen-pics/

Vermont Teen Going to the Slammer for 'Sexting'

I've created numerous posts on "sexting" in the past year. Here's a news excerpt about a young man who will do jail time in Vermont's first sexting case. What's particularly interesting to me about this news item is that Vermont lawmakers decriminalized sexting earlier in the year, and the 18-year-old was convicted and sentenced on other charges. The bottom line is that sexting, even in states that have changed their laws to decriminalize the behavior, is still a wicked bad idea.

18-year-old Isaac Owusu will serve 90 days of a two-year sentence in a Vermont prison after pleading guilty to two counts of committing a prohibited act and one count of lewd and lascivious conduct this past Thursday in what was the state's first sexting case. It could've been worse for the teen from Morrisville, who told two teenage girls to send him videos or photos of them performing sexual acts. However, Vermont lawmakers recently decriminalized sexting, which led to sexual assault charges against Owusu being dropped as part of a plea deal.

Source: Switched
http://www.switched.com/2009/09/04/vermont-teen-going-to-the-slammer-for-sexting/

For more information on keeping your kids safe from sexting, see my article "Sexting: A Parent's Guide to Keeping Your Kids Safe."

New Survey Confirms 1 in 5 Teens Sext

A recently released survey from Cox Communications in partnership with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and John Walsh found that 1 in 5 teens (19%) have been involved in "sexting" — sending, receiving or forwarding sexually suggestive text messages. These findings are consistent with a previous survey released in 2008.

This new survey included helpful information, breaking down the 19% cumulative figure into percentages of teens involved in specific behaviors:

Teens that have sent sexts: 9%
Teens that have received sexts: 17%
Teens that have forwarded sexts to others: 3%

Largely, those teens who sent sexts said the messages were sent to a boyfriend/girlfriend (60%).

Perhaps most disturbing was the number of teens (11%) who sent sexts to someone they did not know.

About 80% of teens who sext are under the age of 18, with the highest age group of sexters (24%) was 17-year-olds.

Of teens surveyed, 74% believe that sexting is wrong.

Of teen sexters, senders are more likely to be girls (65%).

Teens who sext spend more time online per week (31.7 hours) compared to the overall average of teens surveyed (26.8 hours).

Source: Cox Communications
http://www.cox.com/takecharge/safe_teens_2009/media/2009_teen_survey_internet_and_wireless_safety.pdf

For more information on sexting, read my article, "Sexting: A Parent’s Guide to Keeping Your Kids Safe".

US Judge Rules For Teen Girls In "Sexting" Case

The article excerpt below notes that a Federal judge has blocked a Pennsylvania prosecutor from filing child pornography charges against three teenage girls that sexted. It's worthwhile to note that child pornography and child protection laws (such as Megan's Law) were created in the days before sexting. Law enforcement officials and prosecutors are stepping up to stem the tide of sexting, but are applying these laws to sexting teens in ways that were never imagined when the laws were drafted. As noted in previous posts on this subject, a debate has emerged over whether these laws should be applied to cases of sexting. The debate is necessary, and perhaps in time, new laws will be enacted that apply directly to sexting that include appropriate punishments instead of felony charges and stigmas of teens becoming registered sexual offenders.

A U.S. judge on Monday barred a Pennsylvania prosecutor from filing child pornography charges against three teenage girls caught with sexually suggestive pictures of themselves on their cell phones.

U.S. District Judge James Munley said he was issuing a restraining order on Wyoming County District Attorney George Skumanick because his proposed action would violate freedom of speech and parental rights.

"The court agrees with the plaintiffs that the public interest would be served by issuing a TRO (temporary restraining order) in this matter as the public interest is on the side of protecting constitutional rights," the judge said.

Source: Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/article/mediaNews/idUSN3034377920090331

'Sexting' Teenagers Face Child-Porn Charges

I came across the following in the Orlando Sentinel. It has a lot of basic information about "sexting", much of which I've covered in other posts. What I found most interesting about this article is the story of Phillip Alpert, who at 18 emailed nude photos of his then 16-year-old ex-girlfriend to over 70 people. The result: Alpert was convicted of child pornography charges. He is now a registered sex offender, a moniker that will be attached to him until he's at least 43.

While government and law enforcement officials need to find ways to curtail the "sexting" trend, refinement in laws which govern these actions needs to be made in order to make the punishment "fit the crime." It seems inappropriate to classify adolescents who have "sexted" as sexual offenders and felons on equal footing with rapists and child molesters.

After his former girlfriend taunted him, Phillip Alpert remembered the nude photos she e-mailed to him while they were dating.

He took revenge with an electronic blast — e-mailing the photos of the 16-year-old girl to more than 70 people, including her parents, grandparents and teachers.

Three days later, Alpert, then 18, was charged with transmitting child pornography. Today Alpert is serving five years of probation for the crime, and he is registered as a sex offender — a label he must carry at least until he is 43.

"I didn't know how bad of a decision it was," Alpert, now 19, said recently at his MetroWest apartment. "I don't think it's fair."

Alpert is one of many people across the country who are being charged with felonies and getting sentenced as sex offenders for doing something their friends do all the time, unaware of potential criminal charges.

Source: Orlando Sentinel
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sfl-sexting-030809,0,7801708.story

Should "Sexting" Teens Be Charged As Sex Offenders and Felons?

There's an emerging debate on whether teens who send or receive nude or semi-nude digital photos should be charged as sexual offenders or other serious felony charges. The behavior itself seems to me to be more stupid than felonious, but law enforcement officials, educators, parents, and students are wrestling over what ought to be appropriate consequences for teens who are involved in "sexting." What are your thoughts?

Though youth is fleeting, images sent on a cell phone or posted online may not be, especially if they're naughty.

Teenagers' habit of distributing nude self-portraits electronically — often called "sexting" if it's done by cell phone — has parents and school administrators worried. Some prosecutors have begun charging teens who send and receive such images with child pornography and other serious felonies. But is that the best way to handle it?

"Hopefully we'll get the message out to these kids," says Michael McAlexander, a prosecutor in Allen County, Ind., which includes Fort Wayne. A teenage boy there is facing felony obscenity charges for allegedly sending a photo of his private parts to several female classmates. Another boy was recently charged with child pornography in a similar case.

In some cases, the photos are sent to harass other teens or to get attention. Other times, they're viewed as a high-tech way to flirt. Either way, law enforcement officials want it to stop, even if it means threatening to add "sex offender" to a juvenile's confidential record.

"We don't want to throw these kids in jail," McAlexander says. "But we want them to think."

Dante Bertani, chief public defender in Westmoreland County, Pa., where the students went to court, called the felony charges "horrendous." He says such treatment should be reserved for sex offenders, not teenagers who might've used poor judgment, but meant nothing malicious.

"It should be an issue between the school, the parents and the kids — and primarily the parents and the kids," Bertani says. "It's not something that should be going through the criminal system."

Source: Associated Press
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hJmxoi-6NUpjd2smxVbaoTEy4J2wD964VRQG0

Survey: Teens Sharing Nude Images Online

I've posted numerous times on this emerging and alarming trend of teens sending nude or otherwise inappropriate sexually-themed photos of themselves to others via their cell phones. Now, we have a new survey that gives us a snapshot of just how widespread the trend is: 1 in 5 of all teen girls (and 11% of girls ages 13-16) have electronically sent, or posted online, nude or semi-nude images of themselves.

For more information on this topic, read my article on HomeWord.com, "Digital Photos: An Overlooked Danger of Cyberspace".

When it comes to sex, tech and teens don't make the best bedfellows. As tech-savvy teens become increasingly fluent with new technology, from social networking sites to tricked-out new cell phones, research finds the negative consequences stacking up.

According to the results of a survey released today by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy and CosmoGirl.com, 22 percent of all teen girls — and 11 percent of teen girls ages 13-16 years old — say they have electronically sent, or posted online, nude or semi-nude images of themselves.

And these racy images are also getting passed around: One-third (33 percent) of teen boys and one-quarter (25 percent) of teen girls say they have had nude/semi-nude images — originally meant to be private — shared with them.

But it turns out that teen girls are not the only ones sharing sexually explicit content. According to the survey, almost one in five teen boys (18 percent) say they have sent or posted nude/semi-nude images of themselves. One-third (33 percent) of young adults — 36 percent of women and 31 percent of men ages 20-26 — say they have sent or posted such images.

Source: Today
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28141513/

More Info on Teens and "Sexting"

The stories of teens sending provocative photos of themselves via cell phones, and being surprised that they end up being distributed around the Internet continues. I've posted several times on this before (see my earlier post here and follow the other links on that post.) Again, these stories serve to underscore the need for parents to discuss this issue with their teens!

Remember the 15-year-old Ohio girl who faced child pornography charges for distributing naked cellphone photos of herself? There comes news that the charges were dropped, and the case will be dismissed if she completes a diversion program. But, most interesting of all, she revealed a typically teenage oh-by-the-way revelation during the hearing: Three of the male students who received her digital offerings also sent her back X-rated snapshots of themselves; now they might face charges, too.

That's not all in the way of teens being punished for "sexting," as it is now being called. Two teenage girls in Seattle were suspended from their cheerleading team after school officials discovered that they had taken nude cellphone photos of themselves that were circulated among students. One girl sent a topless photo to her then-boyfriend, which was "accidentally" leaked to other students; the other had a female friend take a nude snapshot, which also mysteriously ended up in other students' hands.

Now the girls' parents are suing the school, accusing "administrators of violating the girls' due process rights, needlessly sharing the photos with other school staff members and failing to promptly report the matter to police as possible child pornography," reports the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. The school did not punish the students -- including a reportedly large number of football players -- who were in possession of the photos.

Source: Salon
http://www.salon.com/mwt/broadsheet/2008/11/25/sexting/index.html

Teen Charged with Sending Nude Pics of Herself

I've posted on this issue before (here, here, and here), as a way of raising awareness about the trend and inherent dangers of teens sending out or posting racy digital photos. Just yesterday at HomeWord, we received a question on this from a parent of a twelve-year-old girl. Mom discovered that the girl had photos on her phone of pictures she had taken of her breasts. This morning, I ran across this news story - and I'm posting it as another reminder this is a real issue that must be addressed between parents and kids.

A 15-year-old Ohio girl faces felony charges and may have to register as a sex offender for allegedly taking nude photos of herself and sending them to her high school classmates.

The girl, whose name has not been released, was arrested last week and charged in juvenile court with possessing criminal tools and the illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material, said Licking County, Ohio, prosecutor Ken Oswalt.

Her alleged actions are part of what some in law enforcement say is a growing problem around the country.

"There's a totally false perception among juveniles that there is no risk to this," Oswalt told ABCNews.com. "That picture, once taken and sent, gives anyone who receives it the ability to do anything with it, forever. If a picture of you found its way onto the Internet, that's going to haunt you, potentially forever."

If convicted, the girl could face a sentence of anywhere from probation to several years in a juvenile detention center. A judge also has the discretion to make the girl register as a sex offender under Ohio law.

Oswalt said other teens who received the photographs, which are considered child pornography under state law, may also be charged.

Law enforcement agencies and schools across the country say they are struggling to deal with a relatively new phenomenon -- teens who send nude photos to friends and classmates.

Source: ABC News
http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/Story?id=5995084&page=1

For more information on how to deal with this issue in your home, read my article on HomeWord.com:

Digital Photos: An Overlooked Danger of Cyberspace

Teen to Face Trial on Charges of Posting Nude Pic on MySpace

As a follow up to earlier posts on the topic of teens and digital pictures - here, and here - comes this story from Wisconsin about a 17-year-old boy who is facing felony charges for posting nude pictures of a 16-year-old girl classmate on his MySpace page. The girl has testified that she emailed him the photos. While certainly the boy is in the wrong for posting the photos on MySpace, this story raises the issue of moral ambiguity for teens who are figuring out the rules of how to navigate these new waters of a digital culture.

LA CROSSE, Wis. - A teen accused of posting nude pictures of a 16-year-old girl on his MySpace page was bound over for trial Wednesday after he refused to enter pleas to three charges.

Alex Phillips, 17, of La Crosse, pleaded not guilty, according to online court records updated Thursday.

He is charged with felony counts of possessing child pornography and sexual exploitation of a child, and a misdemeanor count of defamation. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 16 years, nine months in prison and a $45,000 fine.

The girl, who testified by phone, said she took the photographs of herself and e-mailed them to Phillips about two months ago. When she learned on May 17 that Phillips had posted the photos to his Web page, her mother called police.

Source: Minneapolis - St. Paul Star Tribune
http://www.startribune.com/local/19354284.html?