OH- Girl, 15, accused of sending nude photos over phone

Prosecutors are supposed to be smart and exercise discretion, guess its election time. What good does it do to ruin a young girls life for a dumb mistake?

10-7-2008 Ohio:

NEWARK — A 15-year-old girl was charged with felony offenses Monday in the Juvenile Division of Licking County Common Pleas Court for sending nude photographs of herself to other juveniles’ cell phones, Licking County Assistant Prosecutor Erin Welch said.

The Licking Valley High School student is the first minor to be charged after the Prosecutor’s Office made presentations to high schools across the county about the illegality of having or transmitting pornographic images on or from their cell phones.

She pleaded deny to both charges: Illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material, a second-degree felony; and possession of criminal tools, a fifth-degree felony.

If found delinquent, the juvenile court’s equivalent of a conviction, the girl could be labeled a Tier II sexual offender and be required to register for 20 years, Welch said.

She declined to comment on whether the juveniles who received the photographs also would be charged, but she did say the investigation is ongoing.

School officials at LVHS discovered the materials and involved Licking County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Josh Hufford, who is the school resource officer.

The defendant was arrested Friday and had been detained over the weekend. She was released after the hearing Monday pending the resolution of her case, Welch said.

In April, Prosecutor Ken Oswalt began conducting assemblies during which he explained the consequences to high school students.

At that time, Oswalt said he’d had about 20 cases through April where students had taken nude or otherwise inappropriate photos of themselves, text-messaged them to others or had a photo of another teen in their phone.

Most of the minors did not know it was illegal and none were charged pending their adherence to a plan crafted with their families, he said.

Welch said Oswalt hosted a presentation at LVHS last month to warn students not to engage in this activity. ..News Source.. by Russ Zimmer