» It’s a serious issue that must be addressed, but the legal system shouldn’t consider it felonious.
One thing you can count on when it comes to our ever-changing technology: The laws can’t keep up.
When child pornography statutes were put on the books, legislators had no way of imagining that someday middle school students would be sending nude photos and videos of each other via a device like the cell phone.
Culpeper’s top prosecutor, Gary Close, has such a case in front of him, and he believes that underage kids “sexting” each other should be no more than a misdemeanor — as of now, it’s a Class 6 felony.
We think Close is right.
When middle school students consent to have sex with each other, it’s not rape. It’s something parents, school administrators and the public at large have to be concerned about, but it’s not a felony.
And when done without malice, the same should go for sexting.
There are other issues to consider. The sexual images could easily wind up in the possession of people they were never intended for. That adds to the danger, and might serve as an explanation why misdemeanor charges in such cases could be appropriate; but the possibility of jail time, and a felony record, is excessive.
In the recent case that’s made headlines locally, the three students involved were temporarily suspended from school, a punishment that fits the crime. Hopefully it won’t go much further than that.
This episode only highlights the fact that state lawmakers need to come up with better laws governing such behavior. After all, kids will be kids. When it comes to disseminating underage pornographic images, however, we shouldn’t treat them like adults.
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