14-Year Old Girl Arrested on Child Pornography Charges in New Jersey

A 14-year-old girl in Trenton, New Jersey has been arrested and charged with child pornography after posting roughly 30 nude pictures of herself on her profile at MySpace.com. The pictures were apparently intended to be seen by her boyfriend, but were apparently available for the public to see. The case is important because it is the first high-profile prosecution of the act of "sexting", in which teens use social network profiles and cell phones to distribute lewd or nude photos of one another.

The problem is that many teens and tweens are far more technically savvy than their parents - and the authorities - and so the offenders are rarely caught.

And now that officials are trying to bring charges, concerned parents and citizens are questioning the validity of charging teens under laws that were designed to protect them. In addition to being charged with child pornography and distribution in New Jersey, the girl may also be required to register as a sex offender under the provisions of Megan's Law. At that point, the law has been flipped to punish the very people that it was designed to protect.

When a teen chooses to exploit him or herself online or on some other platform, how can authorities then claim that the teen is committing a crime? The laws are designed to protect the innocent from being exploited. As Maureen Kanka, the mother of the girl that inspired Megan's law after being raped and killed by a convicted sex offender, clearly stated:

"This shouldn't fall under Megan's Law in any way, shape or form. She should have an intervention and counseling, because the only person she exploited was herself."