The state of Virginia in the U.S. has had some very high-profile cases recently when it comes to sexting and dick-pics. Remember police tried to get permission to chemically induce and photograph the erect penis of a 17-year-old boy because he sent dick-pics to his 15-year-old girlfriend? And earlier this year, an investigation spanning six counties was launched, involving thousands of nudes being shared among teens.
It’s clearly become a major situation for residents in Virginia, and is freaking some parents out so much that one mother decided to report her 13-year-old daughter to the police after discovering she was sending nude pics to fellow students at her school.
The teen was reportedly rumbled sending the eplicit images when her parents heart voices in her room in the middle of the night. After they took away her phone and tablet they found nude pictures of her as well as nudes of other students.
‘Looking through the phone and the tablet we did find sexual pictures, conversations that were very inappropriate for her age,’ the mother told local news station WTVR.
After digging some more, the mother found that students of around 17 and 18 years old were asking the teen to hang out, and some were asking to have sex with her, ‘because according to these people, she was cool now,’ she said. Scared of what may happen to her daughter, she took her down to the police station and turned her in.
In Virginia, posession of child pornography is a federal crime, even if the pictures were taken by the child themselves. It sounds crazy, but clearly the law was created way before the advent of nude selfies, dick-pics and social media.
Although the 13-year-old could feasibly be charged with child porn possession, the likelihood is that she won’t be, and will instead have to go through a 12-week group programme and counselling within the juvenile justice system.
Despite the risk of charges, the mother says she just wants to protect her child. ‘What she’s facing may be harsh, but we feel it’s for her own protection… this could get worse. She could be taken [by predators who may see her pictures].’
The story poses some good questions, not just about the amdendment of these child porn laws when it comes to minors taking phots of themselves, but also how parents can look out for their kids in the current climate of over-sharing.
Picture: Getty
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.