Thank you all for all your answers. I did not say I didn't see anything wrong with it,
That was not what I inferred from this statement: "What is wrong with this picture really?" That sort of implied that you felt there was nothign wrong.
but first of all the wrong was when the girl herself sent that picture.
And the second, third, and further wrongs were committed by your son when he forwarded it along. One could argue that the nude pic was intended as a personal communication between the two parties and he then passed it on to others. In the great scheme of things, that is likely to be seen as the greater evil of those committed.
I just think things are getting way out of control as far as this being considered a felony when he is a teenage boy.
The courts tend to take age and maturity into consideration. The telling of this tale may well be in what he texted his friends in response to the image and along with it being forwarded to them.
She had to know if she sent a picture of herself naked to a 14 year old boy that it was not going to be for just him. Come on.
If she sent it just to him, that argument and that reasoning can be made. She is also 14 ... she doesn't think like a 40 year old.
I am scared to death for my son right now. He made a mistake that he did not even know was illegal.
Then he was living under a rock. I have two teenage sons - one 14 and one 13 - and both of them know that something like that is wrong. He may not have known WHAT law he was breaking, but he has to have known that passing along photos of a naked child were wrong.
Why should he know it is illegal really he is only 14.
In my state (and, I believe most other states) that is the age at which a child is legally presumed to understand the consequences of their actions. Hi attorney will have to prove that he is naive and a tad on the slow side to show he lacked the requisite intent to commit a crime.
But, as I said, courts tend to show mercy in these sorts of situations anyway.
I just think it is wrong for them to put such a harsh punishment on someone that received something from someone else.
Had it just remained between the two of them, chances are this would no even be an issue. There would probably have been a serious tail chewing and a lot of saber rattling by the authorities to try and scare the kids, but not much else. Unfortunately, once your son passed it on to others (or once SHE sent it to others as well) that cat is out of the bag and everyone faces charges. And, if your son was the one who sent the messages to his friends, he likely faces the most serious potential charges.
I am sick to my stomach about this that my son may face jail time or worse a sexual preditor for the rest of his life. It's ridiculous. Go after the real criminals.
It's amazing ... everyone says the police should go after the "real" criminals, but no one really defines what a "real" criminal is. I always thought the police were supposed to investigate and report on crimes ... and the passing of nude photos of underage children in order to get your jollies is a crime. So, I would say that the police ARE investigating "real" criminals. I doubt this investigation will cause even one shoplifter to go free, so I doubt it is a case of "either / or".
Whether your local DA will prosecute anyone is something I cannot predict. Mine probably wouldn't, but that doesn't mean yours would not. You'll just have to wait and see.
In the meantime, it's probably a good idea to retain counsel ... just in case.
- Carl