Pa. Parents Fire Back at Sexting Charges

Team with ACLU, sue DA over teens' felony child-porn cases
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 21, 2009 9:09 AM CDT
Pa. Parents Fire Back at Sexting Charges
Distributing nude photos of fellow teens can result in felony child-porn charges.   (Creative Commons)

A Pennsylvania district attorney is trying to snuff out “sexting” by threatening felony child-pornography charges for teens who have taken, appeared in, or sent naughty pictures, the Wall Street Journal reports. But while many capitulated, the parents of three others have teamed with the ACLU to sue George Skumanick instead, saying he’s violated freedom-of-expression laws.

One of those three was a girl photographed in a bra at a slumber party when she was 12. In March, a federal judge said the suit may be successful, and has temporarily barred the DA from charging the teens. Skumanick notes that he offers a class as an alternative to the porn charges, which he didn't have to. “We thought we were being progressive,” he says. (More sexting stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X