Your Worst Nightmare Could Be Your Teen Sexting
Teens are actively engaged in "sexting", exchanging text messages with sexually-explicit content, with no idea of the consequences. All across the country boys and girls are using the built in cameras on their cell phones to take nude and semi-nude shots of themselves and sending them to boyfriends, girlfriends, friends, or classmates. One in five teens in the Northeast admits to doing it.
Attorney Gloria Allred, explains the legal ramifications and offers tips for parents.
"While teens may just consider it to be high tech flirting," says Allred, "many have no idea that the practice is actually considered to be pornography and has very serious consequences.
"Taking photo images of themselves naked, or semi-naked then sending it via cellphones has serious legal implications that neither the teen or their parents, is aware.
"The teen who takes this naked or semi-naked photo of himself or herself and sends it could in fact be facing criminal prosecution for distributing child pornography. Not to mention the images could end up all over the world.
"Even the innocent recipient of this semi-nude photo or nude photo, if they have encouraged the other person to take that photo and to send it, they could also face prosecution for
distributing child pornography.
"Also both the sender and the receiver, if convicted, could be sent to prison or face probation and even have to register as a sex offender. That of course can follow them for the rest of their life.
"Parents need to be aware of it. In fact if they know their teenagers are sexting and do not stop them from doing so the parents themselves could face criminal prosecution for contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
"On top of that they may find they're going to be visited by child protective services. They could have their rights with their own children limited if they didn't stop the texting when they were aware of it. In addition they could even face civil lawsuits where they are sued for damages by the person who received the semi-nude photo and had not asked for it. The parents could be sued for damages for being negligent in the supervision of their teenagers.
There are serious legal consequences in all of this.
"I think it would be important for parents to engage in a conversation with their own teenagers about the legal perils and consequences of sexting.
"They can visit my website, www.lawyers.com which serves as a free online resource for them. They could go there, get the information about these legal consequences then sit down and talk with their teenagers about it.
"I think when they use this information with their teenagers, make the teenagers understand that they could be criminally prosecuted; that teenagers in some cases today, even as we speak, are being criminally prosecuted for sexting; perhaps then they will stop the sexting.
Then they won't have to face those dangers in the future and end up perhaps even having to register as a sex offender. Most teenagers are unaware they would have to do this."
Recent results from the Lawyers.com survey...
In the Northeast:
--Nearly a third (32%) of parents are unaware of the practice called "sexting"
--25% of parents are unsure they understand the potential dangers associated with "sexting"
--Nearly a quarter (24%) of parents neither agree nor disagree to whether there are legal consequences involved if teens are caught sexting
North Central
--Nearly three in ten (28%) of parents are unaware of the practice called "sexting"
West
--A third of parents (33%) are unaware of the practice called "sexting"
--28% of parents are unsure they understand the potential dangers associated with "sexting"
--Nearly a quarter (22%) of parents neither agree nor disagree to whether there are legal consequences involved if teens are caught sexting
Gloria Allred is a successful advocate whose high-profile legal battles on behalf of victims whose rights have been violated have led to many landmark precedent-setting court decisions. Gloria Allred is a founding partner of Allred, Maroko & Goldberg, experts in civil law firm.
