Is Your Teen Sexting? It Could Be A Sex Crime
It's challenging for many parents to see the indicators that their teenagers are sexually active, but it's also important to handle this change in a mature and helpful manner. One way that you may learn of your teen's involvement in a sexual relationship is that he or she has been receiving sexual images via text — something that many teens call "sexting." This behavior may or may not mean that your teen is engaging in sexual intercourse, but it does mean that there could be some potential legal concerns. If the person taking nude photos and sending them to your teen is underage, your teen is technically in possession of child pornography and could thus potentially be charged. Here are some ways to deal with this situation.
Don't let your teen distribute the images
As much as the thought might disturb you, there's a possibility that your teen could share the sexual images with his or her friends. If your teen lacks respect for the sender of the images, distribution is possible, and this can lead to more legal issues because your teen is sharing the images rather than just being in possession of them. You need to immediately make it clear to your teenager that sharing the images with even one friend can be a serious mistake.
Make sure your teen deletes the images
You should also implore your teen to delete the images on his or her phone, and it's important to monitor this behavior so that the teen doesn't lie to you. Have the teen show you proof that he or she hasn't backed up the images on his or her cloud account, too. Your teen may protest with claims that no one will know about the images, but the reality is that this isn't true. If your teen were to lose his or her phone, someone could obtain the illegal images and report their existence to the police.
Encourage your teen to stop the behavior
You also need to encourage your teen to talk to his or her friend and make a firm request not to send any pictures of this nature in the future. Regardless of the nature of the relationship, this is material of which your teenager cannot be in possession. The sender may have thought that this behavior was harmless, flirtatious fun and may not have had any idea of the severity of this action. If necessary, don't hesitate to get in touch with the sender's parents so that they, too, can emphasize the seriousness of the situation. Of course, if your child were to end up charged, you should consult with a criminal attorney who specializes in sex crimes.
