OR- Lincoln County teen sentenced to two months jail in 'sexting' case

10-20-2009 Oregon:

NEWPORT – A teen-aged girl who faced at least six years in a state prison on sexual offense charges relating to a "sexting" case, instead began a two-month stay in county jail Friday.

The girl, now 18, pleaded guilty to reduced charges of third-degree sexual abuse and solicitation to encourage child sexual abuse for using her phone making a sexually-explicit video of a teenage friend and showing it to others.

The teen initially faced two Measure 11 felony crimes, each carrying a mandatory minimum of 70 to 75 months in prison. The Oregonian is not identifying the girl because she was a juvenile at the time of the incident.

"To send you down the river was more than this judge could stomach," said Judge Charles Littlehales in sentencing the girl. "My feeling was it should not be a Measure 11 crime for someone 16, drunk and stupid."

The charges stemmed from a April 2008 party at a beach rental at which, witnesses told police, everyone was drinking. The defendant was in a bedroom with a 16-year-old female friend who was drunk and partly naked.

A man in the room, David Simpson, now 31, encouraged his dog to have oral contact with the 16 year old friend, and the defendant taped it on her cell phone. She later showed the clip to others.

But the video didn't come to light until the following fall when several high school girls reported it to the Newport High School principal. He called the police.

Simpson is scheduled to go to trial next Wednesday, but was attempting to strike a deal with prosecutors beforehand.A third defendant, Jesse Carey, was convicted in June of failure to report child pornography and given probation.

The guilty plea involving the girl was part of a deal brokered by Benton County District Attorney Mike Flinn and the teen's defense attorney Bruce McCrum.

She will also serve 36 months probation and 20 days on a work crew and must attend alcohol counseling. She will not have to report as a sexual offender.

Flinn said striking the deal with the teenage girl was not an easy decision to make. "She expressed no remorse," said Flinn, who prosecuted the case because Carey is the son of a Lincoln County sheriff's deputy. "She admitted what she had done, but she did not think it was that big of a deal."

But there were also mitigating factors, he said.

She had no previous convictions, and came from a home life that was chaotic, neglectful and verbally abusive.

"Even through all that, she worked, she completed school and is planning on going to college," Flinn said.

During sentencing, Judge Littlehales told her she'd been given a "hell of a break," not only in avoiding a lengthy prison sentence, but in dodging the sex offender label.

"Had that been branded on you, and perhaps you should read "The Scarlet Letter," that would have been a big A on your forehead for the rest of your life," he said.

After the teen entered her plea, she turned to face the victim's father.

"I just want to say I am sorry and what I did was wrong." Then, the slightly-built teen hugged her family and waited for her attorney to walk her next door to the jail.

The victim's father said he was satisfied.

"I think it is probably fair due to her age and the mistakes made by teenagers," he said. "A longer sentence might be counter-productive. I hope this is a learning experience for her and she'll straighten out her life."

Still, he said, it's been a very difficult time for his daughter. "I don't think it's something that will ever be put out of her mind, but she is moving on with her life." ..Source.. by Lori Tobias, The Oregonian