Every day I get a dozen or so articles that talk about someone who was charged or convicted for possession or distribution of child pornography. Reading these articles gives me hope that these people are being punished for their crimes. It also sheds a sad light on how big the problem is.
Thankfully we have laws that promote public awareness regarding the location of these people when, and if, the convicted are let out of jail. Generally the offenders are labeled as sex offenders. Each state has different versions of this law, but New York 's is called Sex Offender Registration Act (SORA). It dictates that while on the sex offender list, the offender cannot live within a certain proximity to schools or other places children assemble (a.k.a., most good neighborhoods), they are not eligible for many jobs, and they are to register with the state every time they move or get a new job. The information they give the state is public and is posted on this watch dog site, www.familywatchdog.com. This site gives the public an easy to use tool to find out where sex offenders are on a map.
Why am I talking about this?
The definition of child pornography is simply pornography that involves children. Most agree that this is a horrible crime that deserves punishment that should include being on a sex offender list. Recently, with the introduction of "sexting", teens are now taking nude pictures of themselves and sending them to each other. By the law's definition, this is child pornography. The courts are beginning to see it this way too. There have been several articles recently talking about this, Holly mentioned a few in her recent post.
My question to you is what is a reasonable punishment for these teens? Does grounding the child take care of it? Just take away the cell phone? Jail time? Sex offender classes with other sex offenders who were in jail for molesting kids?
Something to consider: A report done by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy said that 20 % of teens have posted online, or sent with their cell phones, a nude or semi-nude picture of themselves. This means that on average, 1 in 5 teens that you know would need this punishment.
The question in many people's minds, how do you know if your kids are participating in dangerous behavior? Common Sense Media had a good article and video in this week's newsletter that you may find helpful if you have teens.
