During the early to mid 1990’s a new phenomenon, known as the cell phone, made a more prominent appearance into the lives of individuals world wide. Since, multiple electronically promoted epidemics have swept over the world’s population through the use of cell phones, primarily amongst juveniles. Of these epidemics, sexting, the act of “sending nude, sexual or indecent photos (or ‘selfies’) using a computer, mobile phone or [any] other mobile device,”2 has made it’s way to the top of the list of commonly committed wrongdoings amongst juveniles. Also included along side the sending of these explicit photos via sexting are, “written messages or even videos,”2 that can be construed as another form of sexting. Many individuals believe that sexting…show more content… For instance, as sexting is a relatively new problem area within the justice system, it is exceedingly difficult for prosecutors to follow precedent and determine, “whether and how to charge teenage sexters; [it has forced] them to weigh when to muster the harsh force of criminal justice, often with ill-fitting laws from a pre-Internet era, and when to back off and let schools and families deal with youthful indiscretions.”3 Prosecutors who have become exceedingly familiarized with numerous cases involving sexting, such as William Fitzpatrick, the district attorney of Onondaga County in New York and president of the National District Attorneys Association, have begun urging fellow “prosecutors across the country to approach teenage sexting with a light hand, avoiding criminal charges in many cases and finding ways to impose less severe and lasting punishments in others.”3 As a general rule, said urging is typically followed due to the fact that, “few prosecutors want to ruin the lives of teenagers for one-time displays of immaturity.”3 Regardless, the problem still remains that, “erotically charged cellphone pictures or videos passed around by teenagers often meet the legal definition of child pornography, making them the subject of felony laws that were written with true predators in mind;”3 hence, “law enforcement officers and prosecutors must keep in mind that juvenile sex…show more content… For the time being, inconsistency will remain in regards to measures taken to prevent sexting amongst juveniles as many states have taken it upon themselves to formulate their own process for dealing with the crime. For instance, “Pennsylvania approaches sexting, as it is illegal for teens ages 12-17 to posses the naked photo of another person in the same age range; Louisiana won’t allow anyone under 17 to send or keep pictures; Texas is one of the states that makes some allowances: if the minor sexts another minor, it’s not considered a crime, as long as the recipient’s age is within two years of the sender and the exchange is consensual.”2 Not only do punishments vary from state to state, but “depending on the circumstances of the images in question, sexting may also be a crime under federal law.”2 “As teen sexting spreads and becomes a [greater] worry among parents, it’s probable that [sexting] laws will be adopted on a wider scale,”2 providing an increase in the consistency throughout the entire process of sexting cases ruled upon in
