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N.J. Legislation Would Decriminalize 'Sexting' by Teens
New Jersey Law Journal
July 23, 2009
Recognizing that teenagers who e-mail nude or sexually suggestive photos of themselves to friends aren't really child pornographers, New Jersey legislators are proposing alternatives to criminal prosecution that may be more effective in stanching the recent practice.
Pending bills in the state Assembly and the Senate would create a diversionary program, by which minors who are charged with the creation, distribution or exhibition of nude photos can avoid prosecution by completing a course focusing on the consequences of such acts.
The sponsors say teenagers often engage in the practice -- sometimes known by the play on words "sexting" -- out of a psychological vulnerability, not a criminal mindset, and the law should reflect that.
The bills A-4069 (Pamela Lampitt, D-Camden) and S-2926 (James Beach, D-Camden), were introduced in June, just three months after the Passaic County Sheriff's Department charged a 14-year-old girl with distribution of child pornography for posting nude pictures of herself on MySpace. The girl ultimately was given probation and counseling.
The Passaic case pointed up a growing problem. Twenty percent of respondents in a survey last fall of 653 people between the ages 13 and 19, conducted by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unwanted Pregnancy, said they had sent or Web-posted nude or semi-nude photos or videos of themselves.
In Cincinnati, 18-year-old Jessie Logan committed suicide in July 2008 after a nude photo of her was sent by mobile phone to hundreds of high school students in her area. She had sent the photo to her boyfriend, who passed it on to others after they broke up.
"The teenage practices of sexting and posting sexual images online are nationwide problems that have perplexed parents, school administrators, and law enforcement officials. Prosecutors in several states have charged teenagers who have engaged in these behaviors with criminal offenses, including distribution of child pornography," says the statement to Lampitt's bill.
Lampitt says punitive measures should be avoided because teenages who send nude photos often act out of a lack of confidence or a need for approval.
"The one thing we do know about kids who have been faced with this issue is that they have been bullied, they have become depressed," she said. "We asked ourselves, what will be the most effective punishment without hauling them off to jail?"
The bills call for the attorney general's office to develop a sexting curriculum in cooperation with the judiciary. The course would focus on legal consequences of transmitting explicit photos as well as nonlegal consequences, such as the effect on relationships and the loss of job opportunities. Also covered would be the unique nature of cyberspace, whose infinite audience can create unforeseen, long-term consequences for sharing of sexually explicit materials, and the link between bullying and sharing of explicit materials.
County prosecutors would have the discretion to divert into the program any minors charged with distribution of nude photos under N.J.S.A. 2C:24-4, endangering the welfare of a child. Only juveniles who have no prior record, were unaware their actions constituted a criminal offense and are likely to be deterred from future offenses by completing the program would be eligible.
Lampitt introduced the sexting measure as part of a package of three bills.
Another bill, A-4068 , pending in the Assembly Education Committee, would require schools to annually disseminate, by whatever means they deem appropriate, information to students in grades 6 through 12 on the hazards of electronic dissemination of sexually explicit images. An identical bill, S-2923 (Beach), is before the Senate Education Committee.
A third, A-4070, would require stores selling cellular phones or phone contracts to provide brochures about sexting to purchasers. That bill is before the Assembly Consumer Affairs Committee and its companion, S-2925 (Beach), is before the Senate Commerce Committee.
