OH- Ohio bill tackles 'sexting' among teens

Notice that State Rep Maag only has children in college.

3-26-2009 Ohio:

A Warren County state representative announced today he will introduce legislation to address the growing problem of “sexting,” or minors sending nude photographs and videos of themselves and others through cell phones.

State Rep. Ronald Maag, R-Lebanon, said his legislation would make the creation, exchange and possession of nude materials between minors by a telecommunications device a misdemeanor of the first degree.

Minors who show nude pictures of themselves through text message may be charged with the same penalty.

“Certainly this is an issue that needs to be confronted,” Maag said in a statement.

“Local prosecutors have brought to my attention that under current Ohio law these teens could be charged with a felony and classified as sex offenders. There is concern that this may not be appropriate for these minors.”

It wasn’t immediately clear today exactly when the legislation would be introduced or how quickly it might be passed. Maag didn’t return calls for comment.

Maag referred to a recent study that showed that one in five minors across the country has either sent or received these types of pictures and videos.

The legislation would apply only to teens under the age of 18, separate from similar adult offenses which carry felonious charges.

One case was prosecuted in Mason recently when nude photos of a 15-year-old girl were found on a freshman boy’s cell phone. Both teens were charged with misdemeanor counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

And in Middletown earlier this month, a 13-year-old boy was arrested on a felony charge after school officials at Stephen Vail Middle School found a sexually explicit image of an 8th grade girl engaged in sexual activity on his cell phone.

The boy was charged with juvenile delinquency by way of pandering obscenity involving a minor, a second-degree felony.

“I think what these teens need is education about how this type of behavior could affect their lives,” Maag said in the statement. “This legislation does not affect the state’s ability to try actual sex offenders. What it does is clarify the law regarding incidences such as these.”

Warren County Prosecutor Rachel Hutzel worked with Maag and suggested such a law be created to make it a misdemeanor, said her spokesman, Matt Nolan.

“The problem right now is the actual laws in place are all felonies and sex offender registration can be required,” Nolan said. “We don’t feel the intent of those laws is to address this. This law that Rep. Maag is bringing forward better deals with new technology and the new situation we are facing.”

Butler County Prosecutor Robin Piper agrees a new law is needed to address the new challenge of prosecuting sexting cases.

But, he added, prosecutors should still be able to bring felony charges against some offenders when cases involve mass textings of nude images or there is malicious intent.

"We need to recognize in juvenile law one size doesn’t necessarily fit all," he said. "We have to look at each situation and fit accordingly."

Cynthia Logan, the mother of a Sycamore High School senior who committed suicide last year in a sexting case that turned tragic, is trying to launch a national campaign to seek laws to address sexting.

Jessica Logan, 18, hung herself July 3, 2008, after a her nude cell phone photo - meant for her boyfriend’s eyes only - was sent to hundreds of teenagers in at least seven Greater Cincinnati high schools and Jessica was bombarded with taunts.

"The laws on the books are not OK,” Cynthia Logan said today. “A child should not be in the same category as an adult. Technology is constantly changing, and we have to make sure our laws are equivalent to the technology.”

Logan wants to warn teens of the harassment, humiliation and bullying that can occur when that photo gets forwarded.

Logan said she thinks teens convicted of "sexting" should be ordered to serve one or two years probation, perform community serviceand speak at school assemblies to raise awareness on the issue.

"They should do some sort of an assembly in school with other teenagers telling them they did a photo, what it did to that person and how wrong it was," she said. ..News Source.. by Jennifer Baker