Teen Girl Arrested On Child Porn Charges After Tweeting Nude Selfies

Teen Girl Arrested On Child Porn Charges After Tweeting Nude Selfies

Posted on February 14, 2014
James City County Police say a teenager is facing child pornography charges after allegedly tweeting nude pictures of herself.

According to Stephanie Williams-Ortery with the James City County Police Department, officers received an anonymous tip about nude pictures posted on Twitter by the 16-year-old girl. It is unclear how many pictures were involved, but police say they were posted either on or around Jan. 30.

Williams-Ortery said photos were also sent to some boys.

A school resource officer was notified, and spoke with the teen and her mother.

“It’s not just friends that see what they post but also strangers and everyone else out there,” said Williams-Ortery. “You have no idea who’s out there watching. You never know who’s going to see what you post.”

The teen’s phone was confiscated for evidence, and she was charged with one count of distribution of child pornography. Williams-Ortery said other teens should be aware that they stand to get in trouble for pictures of this nature too, even if they aren’t the one’s who took the photo.

“I would hope that they would not then forward it on to their friends because then they become guilty also of distribution of child pornography, whether they know that or not,” Williams-Ortery said.

WAVY.com was informed that in the juvenile system this young woman and her parents could be ordered to complete a Sexting Education program. But there’s also the chance this could end up in court as a criminal matter with jail time as a possibility.

10 On Your Side talked to local parents who were surprised to hear the teen’s charge was so severe.

“I don’t think she should be charged with child pornography, because she is a child herself, but if she was 18 or older of course,” said parent Emily Altman.

“That is distributing, child pornography?” said parent Dometre Mobley. “She is a child, I don’t know what to think of that really.”

Police say the teen crossed the line of sexting to child porn because of the lewdness of the photos.

Parents may also be surprised to know investigators say they are seeing a surge in these types of cases because teens see it as harmless sexting.

The question I have about this story is ……. I don’t believe that nudity is pornography so, how can she be charged with child pornography? Any attorneys out there that can clarify this story?

I don't know how she can be charged with child porn charges if the pictures are of her.

This is the sad nature of society today. Young girls don't understand that sending out nude pictures of themselves can be very harmful to themselves and it is in fact illegal. I understand that there is some sort of sexual exploration that they go through, but having personal cell phones and access to many other ways of communicating in the digital world has changed things for the worse. They may think that sending something naughty to a boyfriend is fine, or perhaps they are proud of their body and want to show it off to the world. Problem is, it isn't legal. They are underage. You can blame many different reasons for this be it the parents not keeping an eye on them, the teen not understanding what is okay and what is not, or even the perv on the other end begging for pics of these young girls.

I know from experience that this is nothing easy to deal with, but a large part of it for me and her mother was that we didn't teach her what was right and wrong with a cell phone. She would get into chats with people halfway across the world, just trying to engage and socialize. Problem is, those people were interested in nothing other than sexual intentions with her. What was worse, I believe, is that she wanted to satisfy these people, she wanted to make them happy. Luckily we caught on when it was only a handful of pictures sent out, and she didn't ruin her life by sharing with anyone close to home. It isn't easy sitting down a teenager and talking to her about her activities online, especially when they were supposed to be private, but it has to happen. I believe teens are not dumb, but very intelligent and sometimes it takes an intervention to show them the error of their ways and to make them better people. We haven't had issues with our daughter since.

Now, do I believe this girl should have been arrested? Made a spectacle of? No, no, no! They did the worst thing possible by going this route. Something like this should have been kept private, the content removed, and the teen needs to have a very serious coaching about what she did. The damage was already done when she decided to publicly post these things online, but now she will be ridiculed at school and other areas of her life. She will be shamed and made to feel terrible about herself, not to mention possible jail time and a sex offender status!? Making this a public spectacle is the worst thing for her, when she needs to be educated about it. I hope this turns out alright for her, but unfortunately it has progressed beyond saving with proper parenting.