MI- Flint Journal Editorial: Law, civility lag behind 'sexting'

4-29-2009 Michigan:

Most adults would agree that teenagers who engage in "sexting" play a foolish game that could haunt them in the years ahead, if not sooner. But even the most disapproving critics of this raging fad must be taken aback at Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton's threat to lodge felony charges against at least one youthful "sexter."

While not sharing all the lurid details, Leyton apparently is relying on child pornography laws that protect children and youths younger than 18 -- penalties being up to seven years in prison for distribution of sexually provocative images of an underage person and 20 years for creating the images.

While an offender might dodge the maximum sentence, especially in a first conviction, he or she would have to register publicly as a sex offender, with ruinous results to reputation and the potential elimination from many future opportunities.

Leyton would need a high standard of justification to impose such a burden on a teen who did not believe he was being criminal or even malicious. The prosecutor addresses that concern by implying such charges should be brought rarely and with great caution but are sometimes justified nonetheless -- all of which suggests reasonable restraint.

Surely the presence of a clear victim needs to be the basic component.

But in most cases, proving victimization could be tricky. "Sexting" has spun out of control because many teens are creating and distributing pictures of themselves in various states of undress, usually via their ubiquitous camera-equipped cellphones. Thus they think it's all in innocent, good, clean fun -- or for some, part of a mating ritual.

So let Leyton's recent announcement serve as a lesson that "sexting" can have legal consequences, even for those blind to any personal ones.

We see the law getting involved, for instance, in a Grand Blanc High School case that involved transferring a photo of a topless female student to many cellphones, leading to suspensions and a police investigation.

Perhaps in a worse case, Holly police investigated into a complaint against a 16-year-old who took cellphone photographs after crawling into the high school girls locker room.

But most "sexting" is less abusive, and by some estimates, a full 20 percent of teenagers have indulged in the practice in some manner. It points to a coarsening of culture, enabled by high technology that has developed so rapidly that neither law nor common civility has kept apace.

One thing that has not changed is the role of good parents, who would like to spare their children from choices that can backfire and do them great harm.

Talking honestly about sex has been one way to give guidance, but now it seems necessary to talk about technology, too, and to monitor and limit its uses. ..News Source.. by Flint Journal Editorial Board