Youth Charged With Child Pornography

0 Comments

It seems that most kids have a cell phone by the time they are in middle school, but cell phones with open internet access put your youth at risk of being charged with Child Pornography.

Photo by: Carissa Rogers
Photo by: Carissa Rogers

Snapchat, Kik and Picture Messages

There are several apps that youth use to communicate with each other. Most of these apps have the ability to send picture messages. Snapchat, Kik, Facebook, and even regular text messaging are all avenues for youth to send pictures or videos to one another. The snare of child pornography is when the sent media contains inappropriate images.

No Privacy on Apps

Apps like Snapchat and Kik give youth the false security that the media they send is only available for the recipient to view for a few seconds. Unfortunately, anytime a picture is taken and sent via these apps, the picture is no longer in your child’s sole possession. Any image sent can be stored quickly on friend’s phones and shared publicly or privately with others.

What Constitutes Child Pornography?

According to Section 2256 of Title 18, United States Code, child pornography is defined as “any visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct involving a minor (someone under 18 years of age).” If a youth sends or forwards a naked or semi-naked suggestive picture of themselves, a friend, boyfriend/girlfriend or if they share a video of a sexual act being performed by a minor, that is by definition- child pornography.

Protect Youth from Themselves

Besides using parental controls that block internet and the ability to send and receive images, parents need to educate their youth about child pornography. Child Pornography is a second-degree felony that can come with a prison sentence of up to 30 years if your youth is charged as an adult. If your youth is already facing charges of child pornography, contact a criminal defense attorney immediately.