RutlandHerald.com - We Are Vermont

Not condoning teen 'sexting'



Toolbox

Published: April 15, 2009

In the last 24 hours there has been an intense amount of interest in the issue of teen "sexting." The Vermont Senate is in no way condoning teenage sexting but we do not believe that a consenting teenager participating in sexting should be subject to a felony conviction and placed on the sex offender registry. It is unfortunate that an Associated Press story based on a more thorough review of the legislation has caused such inflammatory headlines.

Studies show that 20 percent of America's teenagers have admitted to sending explicit photos of themselves by cell phone or posted such photos on the Internet. The number is actually probably much higher since it only counts those who admitted to engaging in this behavior in the survey. In our view 20 percent or more of America's teenagers should not be labeled sex offenders and charged under our laws regarding the use of a child in a sexual performance, promoting a recording of sexual conduct, or possession of child pornography.

After the tragic death of Brooke Bennett this summer, we heard from hundreds of Vermonters who asked us to improve Vermont's sexual violence laws. As members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, we worked throughout the summer and fall to respond to their concerns and are proud to have crafted what has been named as one of the toughest sex offender bills in the nation. I don't think ill-advised teenagers who participate in sexting should be subjected to these strengthened sex offender laws and the severe penalties they carry.

To further strengthen Vermont's sex offender laws, the Senate recently passed a bill to expand the sex offender registry, S.125. It is important to remember that our version of S.125 does not legalize teens sending illicit photos of themselves to each other in all circumstances. In some cases these teens can be charged with voyeurism or lewd and lascivious conduct. The question is do we want to treat the 20 percent of teens who participate in such behavior as serious felons within our criminal justice system or should we treat it as the societal problem that it is. In the senate, we have chosen the latter.

Sen. RICHARD SEARS

Sen. KEVIN MULLIN








READER COMMENTS


I totally agree with Jeff Vincent's posting on Thu, Apr 16, 2009, 9:44 pm EST. I work with a bunch of 40 and 50 year old women in a law firm and listen to their responses when I bring up issues like this and many do not even go on their child's facebook etc. and do not peel back the onion to find out what is really inside. It's particularly worrisome what and who they have on their site and there are many red flags parents choose to conveniently ignore. It's really pathetic.
-- Posted by Suzanne Arena on Thu, Apr 16, 2009, 10:42 pm EST

report this comment


A last thought. Sexting has been around ever since the camera phone, 10 years now. Adults are just now catching on; pathetic. Check your child's phone, and if they complain, check it fast before they can erase the pics! And unless they have a job and can pay for the cell phone bill they should not have it in the first place, you've already started them down a bad path. And if you just said, "But I need to communicate with my child!" you're in denial, spoiling your child, and you deserve the legal bills coming your way.... And if you jsut said, "My child would not send dirty pictures," a recent study confirms that 44% of teens have sent or receiving naked pictures. That's almost a 50% chance that your child is already looking at porn! Grow up America....
-- Posted by Jeff Vincent on Thu, Apr 16, 2009, 9:44 pm EST

report this comment


Are legislators insane??? Tens of thousands of men and women are in state and federal prisons for sending or simply receiving naked pictures of minors. Now you want to say it's fine for kids to send naked picks all they want, but once they come of age they go to prison?! ARE YOU INSANE!!! Don't you realize that the pictures are purpously sent to get the other person excited about sex, as is the adult looking at it; NO DIFFERENCE!!! It's a sex crime at any age. If a policeman sees a minor drinking they go to jail, have a record; fine. But if they send child porn around, even worse make it, then send it, adults go to prison for 20 years for making teen porn, and so should the teen for doing the same thing. If it's not a crime for teens then let the tens of thousands go from prisons all over the U.S. that have done exactly the same thing!!! Savvy teens know exactly what they are doing these days, they cannot plead ''dumb''. Internet porn and phone porn are BOTH run on the Internet, so there is no difference, and making it and sending it is MUCH more illegal than just looking at it on a computer. The laws of this national are INSANE to say it's fine to break the law if you're a minor, then lock a person up for 20 years and ruin his/her life if they look at porn on their cell phone or computer. Porn shouldn't be illegal at all, but if you let the youth of America do it for years before they become adults - do you really think they'll stop once they are adults? Let a child drink liquor all tehy want while a minor, and they WILL become an alcoholic when they grow up. What do you think teens will grow up to be if they look at naked pictures of minors for years before they become an adult?!?!?!
-- Posted by Jeff Vincent on Thu, Apr 16, 2009, 9:28 pm EST

report this comment


AK, your concerns are noted but the proposed change to the law include provision for prosecuting passing along those pictures once received from the foolish teenager who sent them. So even if I'm 15 and my 14 year-old girlfriend sends me a naughty picture I can expect to be pay a high price if I send her picture to you.

Incidentally, there are other laws against Miss 14 sending Mr. 15 her naughty pics and for him to receive them. The intent here is to prevent such foolishness ending up tagging one or both of them with the very serious consequences of lifelong punishment and public embarrassment like being labeled a sexual predator.
-- Posted by Notta Bushman on Thu, Apr 16, 2009, 8:42 am EST

report this comment


Teenagers and obviously some parents are missing the point. Point being this has always been against the law and it's about the venue you are being exposed to. Walking down to the lake or being at a summer cottage etc. are not parallel demonstrations of sending a still picture to someone under age.

America need not look to far, Canada has been practicing an intervention of first time youths in order to deter future criminal behavior. Parents, teachers, counselors and the courts are involved with this successful process. I have been talking about this for quite some time, and in this case (20% that admit to use of Sexing) would be beneficial in TEACHING kids and those misguided parents that can't conceptualize what it does to a teen to have such peer pressure of broadcasting a boy or girl's picture that was expressly sent between the two parties and not to be shared. We can argue that it's unfair all we want (ex: it's unfair we have to follow curfew) that's the rules and if you can't abide by them...then you'll learn the hard way.

But a solution would be to teach, and teach within the schools such as we recently adopted a Bill about a team that was raped and murdered (Lindsey Burke Act : http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2008-10-06-dating-violence_N.htm ) which will be taught in the Health classes. Unfortunately we need to teach BASIC common sense early on, as many have forgotten traditional values and morals.

Whatever you choose to do behind the doors of your home, as long as you are breaking no laws....is your business. But, when you exploit someone else other than yourself, especially when you do so in a demonstrative way that the student disengages from life due to the humility is barbarous.

Vermont and other States should start advocating for solutions like this versus just unfolding the story. There is so much power in media messages. Taking it one step further would be advantageous to the nation rather than just scrambling to always ensure Vermont or Rhode Island does the right thing.

Suzanne Arena
Rhode Island
-- Posted by Suzanne Arena on Wed, Apr 15, 2009, 9:52 pm EST

report this comment


Allen,
Your very last statement in your post is the crux of the matter. Can anyone imagine what the schools would be like should some teenager get wind of the fact that sexting wasn't prosecutable as a crime and there were no consequences for it? As a solution, I would like to offer this: Parents, why not consider only allowing your teen to have a cell phone that is incapable of taking and/or transmitting digital photographs? Better yet, why not pressure Verizon, Sprint, AT&T, et al, to provide methods by which the transmitting of photographs can be disabled via parental control menus similar to the V-chip on television sets? The kids' protection isn't the government's responsibility, it's ours.
-- Posted by Marek Brzyckzy on Wed, Apr 15, 2009, 7:46 pm EST

report this comment


Notta, while I agree it is one thing to be sending naked pictures of oneself, what of the, oh say, legal age teen or twenty-something sexting naked pics of his girlfiend (or boyfriend as the case may be) to others and to the internet?

Last time I heard that had a name. It was called child porn.

Again, if idiots want to send pics of themselves (fools names and faces [and maybe body parts] always appear in public places?} but shouldn't there be some protection for those who don't really want their teen parts spread about for all to see?

Then again... if parents were doing their jobs...
-- Posted by Allen Kuusela on Wed, Apr 15, 2009, 7:09 pm EST

report this comment


So, jc, what exactly are you saying? We should have teens prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law for sending each other pictures of their body parts? We should ruin their chances for student loans, government jobs, etc.? Maybe we should have "sextexter" branded on their foreheads, make them report to their PO's forever, sign them up for the sex offender registry? Is that what you want? Are you so naive as to think some state's attorney isn't going to prosecute some kid who received a shot of the SA's naked teenage daughter doing something naughty?

Look, I'm not saying they should be doing this but I don't want them branded for life for making the silly mistake that their "partner" can be trusted with this graphic "information." Seems to me that far from your contention that the senators are "create[ing] a problem so they can make another law" that their trying to avoid a problem that wasn't envisioned in newly-enacted tougher legislation that people wanted.

And why are you tying any of this to the marriage equality law that was passed recently? Do you think it's only the gay kids that are sending their pictures around?

And just what does "rapted up" mean anyway, jc?
-- Posted by Notta Bushman on Wed, Apr 15, 2009, 9:54 am EST

report this comment


I don't think teens should be arrested as felons, but there should definetely be consequences to deter them from carrying on this practice when they become adults and then will be charged as felons. It seems like the more laws that get passed, the more laws you have to pass to cover your rearend!
-- Posted by Concerned Citizen on Wed, Apr 15, 2009, 9:48 am EST

report this comment


Seems to me these two jerks got so rapted up in G.M. that still haven't come down to earth. Its clearly apparent they are trying to create a problem so they can make another law. Just because someone is caught sextexting doesn't mean the D.A. is going to prosecute them as Donovan has already stated.
-- Posted by jerry coleman on Wed, Apr 15, 2009, 9:18 am EST

report this comment

You must be logged in to leave a comment. Register | Log In

Logout