VT- Student denies sexting charges

A sad twist in a case that many consider to be sexting, but under Vermont law there is a unusual application of another law.

4-1-2009 Vermont:

A former South Burlington High School student already accused of sexually assaulting two classmates was charged Tuesday with crimes related to child pornography on allegations he forced two other teenage girls to send him explicit photos and videos.

The case is believed to the be the first of its kind in Vermont and arises from a growing nationwide trend among high-schoolers known as “sexting” — the exchange of sexually explicit material, often via mobile phone.

By coincidence, the Vermont Senate on Tuesday passed a bill that would shield teens from prosecution under state child-pornography laws for voluntary sexting, but the measure leaves intact penalties for suspects who force or coerce others to participate.

Isaac Owusu, 18, who is free on conditions and lives with relatives in Morrisville, pleaded not guilty to two felony counts of promoting a sexual recording involving 15-year-old girls. The girls told police they agreed to send the graphic images and videos to Owusu, but one of the teens said she complied only after considerable “pressuring” from the older boy, according to court papers.

The conduct was illegal regardless of consent because it involved underage girls, Chittenden County State’s Attorney T.J. Donovan said.

“Mr. Owusu directed young girls to engage in essentially sexual performances. For all intents and purposes, he was directing his own pornography film,” Donovan said after an arraignment in Vermont District Court in Burlington. “Anytime you’re exercising control over other people, directing them to perform sexual acts and record them, that’s not only troubling, it’s illegal.”

A senior when he attended SBHS, Owusu pleaded not guilty in January to one count of sexual assault without consent and two counts of sexual assault on a victim younger than 16, all felonies. He faces a potential life sentence.

The first charge alleges Owusu forced a 15-year-old girl to perform a sex act on him; the other charges essentially are statutory-rape accusations involving a 14-year-old girl. The incidents occurred in November on school property during class time, according to court papers.

Tuesday’s additional charges are the most serious allegations prosecutors could have brought against Owusu related to the exchange of graphic images. State laws prohibiting the possession of child pornography also were applicable; those counts carry maximum penalties of two to five years in prison. The promotion charge, by contrast, brings a 10-year maximum.

“This is not your typical sexting case,” Chittenden County Deputy State’s Attorney Susan Hardin said in court. “This is not a sexting case at all. This is a much more serious case where he became the director of a video and still photographs.”

Defense attorney Leroy Yoder called the new allegations unfortunate but declined further comment about the production charges. He disagreed with Hardin’s description of the case as unrelated to garden-variety sexting.

“It may not be what Vermont has seen, but it’s a nationwide phenomenon,” Yoder said. “What people need to be aware of is, this is happening. I don’t think anybody knows what ‘typical’ is at this point.”

Senate action

The Senate measure attempts to define the practice and catch up state law with emerging technologies and their use without condoning sexting, said Sen. Richard Sears, D-Bennington, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The bill exempts teens from prosecution for child pornography if the sender and the recipient of a sexting message are between 13 and 19 years old, and the exchange was voluntary, Sears said.

“The girl who decides to send a nude picture of herself to her boyfriend, or vice versa, it protects them,” he said. “The kids are doing something inappropriate that they shouldn’t do, but do we want to prosecute them, put them in jail, put them up on the Internet sex-offender registry? This is not good behavior, but do we want prosecutors prosecuting some kid for sending a picture of herself or himself to a boyfriend or girlfriend?”

Laws prohibiting voyeurism still would apply, according to the bill.

Senators passed the measure unanimously; it moves now to the House for consideration.

The move occurred within hours of Donovan’s calling on the Legislature to re-write child-pornography laws especially to prevent charges against girls who send unsolicited messages or boys who receive them. Several cases have received national attention in recent days and weeks where teenage girls have faced criminal accusations for posting nude photos online or sending them via cell phone to others.

“This is the intersection of adolescence, puberty and technology,” Donovan said. “It’s a debate, and it’s something every state’s dealing with. I don’t see the public interest in labeling kids as sex offenders for sending graphic pictures of themselves to others as a means of courtship.”

Plea possible

In Owusu’s case, prosecution and defense attorneys acknowledged the ages of the girls and the suspect make some flexibility possible in how proceedings might conclude.

Despite the maximum possible life term on the sexual-assault charges, Donovan and Hardin said they are willing to consider a plea bargain that would include some adult charges — and potential prison time — along with counseling and rehabilitation handled in the juvenile-court system.

“The state is cognizant of the age of this defendant. We’re going to be talking about resolving this in the best way possible for this young man,” Hardin said. “It’s egregious, but in light of the fact that he is as young as he is, I’m hoping that Mr. Yoder and I can come to some sort of resolution.”

Yoder, too, said talks of an accord are ongoing. The lawyers, Yoder said, should know by Owusu’s next hearing, scheduled for May 15, whether the case could end with a plea or trial. ..News Source.. byAdam Silverman