CELL PHONE, USEFUL TOOL OR POSSIBLE JAIL SENTENCE FOR YOUR TEEN?
THIS POST HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH REAL ESTATE.
As a mother of a teenage girl, I am aware that some teens are using their cell phones to take nude or partially nude photos of themselves or their friends and then sending them on to others. Usually they intend to send them to only one person. But, just like e-mails they get forwarded and end up on hundreds of cell phones not to mention the world wide web.
I'm told by my sister in law who is a high school teacher that it is known as "sexting". I've spoken to my daughter about this and other cell phone and internet dangers for girls and boys her age, but I was thinking about things like her reputation and college and future job applications.
WHAT I DID NOT KNOW IS THAT IT IS ILLEGAL AND COULD RESULT IN JAIL TIME AND A "SEXUAL PREDATOR" LABEL !!
In an article from the Cleveland Plain Dealer, (Sunday, Dec. 14,2008) written by Connie Schultz, she tells of 8 kids between the ages of 14 and 16 that were involved in the above. Not ONE of the 8 kids knew that it was illegal until the principal of their school got wind of what happened and CALLED THE POLICE.
http://www.cleveland.com/schultz/
According to the article, this is an epidemic from California to Maine. The Cuyahoga County juvenile judge who heard the case stated that he knew of some teens, including a 17 year old girl, who have been labeled sexual predators for up to 10 years after getting caught.
The judge doled out an interesting sentence:
Each teen was ordered to find 25 teenagers under the age of 18 at their school and ask them this question:
"Did you know that possessing, viewing or sending nude or partial nude photos or images of a minor (UNDER THE AGE OF 18) using a cell phone is a FELONY and could result in you being jailed for a minimum of 6 months up to until the age of 21?"
One teen already completed his sentence and reported that 23 of the 25 kids he spoke to did not know it was illegal.