'Sexting' Teenagers Charged With Child Pornography

I agree how about criminal charges against him

Well, I suppose one thing that would make a difference is whether the photos were in the inbox (which didn't require the boys' intervention or knowledge) or saved into another folder on the phone.

do you have any kids yet? i have a 12 and an 8 year old, my 12 year old just got a phone and im scared to death of what she will be exposed to. you have to look at this in the rite way! kids dont have the same rights as us adults do. what would happen if a perve got a hold of those pics? anything can happen, they have to look in the best interest of the children. it was not that you were in school,im sure you did some things that your parents still dont know about. we all grow up and tell ourselves how stupid and crazy we were.we were lucky.

This is really, really dumb. Children getting CHARGED with child porn??? You've got to be kidding! Yeah, maybe you could fine them...but incarceration? Somebody has some marbles loose. They're minors for freekin' out loud! They do dumb things. This has to be dealt with in a more humane manner.

As far as RECEIVING kiddie porn...the act was involuntary by the boys and needs to be thrown out of court, unless there's some distribution going on, which needs punishment but not jail. The only real violation here is the school principal who took POSSESSION of the child pornography instead of erasing it, and he's the only adult in this crazy loop. He had no business doing a "let's see," once he was aware what it was. It's like a male principal walking into the woman's bathroom to try and catch girls smoking. To me, It's illegal.

These kids are young adults and were having fun. I would have done it to if I had a cell phone in the sixties. Heck, girls showed us their bodies in person while we were classmates. I think that is part of growing up. Let them have fun. I imagine many adults do the same. kinda like a secretary to her CEO boss. I bet that happens daily in the good ole US.

I completely agree with this statement. I just read the article and asked my friends, "What were they going through the phone for anyway?"
And a teenagers stupid mistake being labeled child pornography is a little harsh...well, no, it's just absolutely ridiculous.

I agree with you there. What business did this confiscator have skimming through the child's cell phone. Regardless of the fact that he took it because the child was using it, the phone should have ben shut off and left in a drawer or bin until the child or the child's parent retrieved it.

I'm a teacher. I confiscate phones for use during school. I check the pictures on it because I know what the kids do. Yes, I know what might be on there. No, I'm not a perv. I'm a concerned teacher and parent of girls who wants to protect children. Here, in Florida, teachers can actually be prosecuted for not reporting child abuse. And the same argument that hold true for statutory rape (children not old enough to make informed consent) also holds true in this case. Children do not have the same privacy rights as adults, therefore cannot expect their property to be safe from searches - especially at school where students belongings can be searched for drugs, weapons, etc. A search of one's cell phone is no different.

As to the boys who received them. They are innocent as long as the texts were not opened. But as soon as they were opened and not immediately deleted, they too can be charged. This is a growing problem in schools. Not making students responsible for their own actions is not only irresponsible, it establishes a pattern of behavior which could continue well into adulthood when they do begin preying on children.

I, for one, will keep confiscating, keep searching, keep reporting, and thereby, help to keep our children safe.

You guys are wrong again. The school administrator of any public or private school can go through a students backpack, locker, books, and cell phones any time they want to, with or without reason. Contact your lawyer or local police. Or, your child's principle. You will find I'm right.

While I think it is just plain stupid to charge the kids with anything, there must have been some exchanging going on. Since only ONE phone was confiscated, how could they even begin to know about the others unless they were all on the same phone? In the world of absolutes, you are for me or you are against me, plain and simple black and white with no shades of gray, the kids are indeed guilty of child porn. However, I think THIS government in particular has really blown the entire child porn thing WAY out of proportion!
When I was a kid, there was no such thing as a cell phone or digital images that could easily be traded. However, I was into photography, the good old fashioned kind with film and developing. Somewhere in this world, I am CERTAIN there are some pictures of me and a couple friends that would amount to child porn. By the same token, in black and white, all the pictures that virtually EVERY parent has taken of their naked kids is also child porn today!

I believe you are forgetting that in most school systems it is against the school rules for students to utilize phones on school property during school. Considering all of the bomb plots and illegal activity that students have dpne on school property lately, it is prudent that the administrator look at the content of the phone messages to make sure thare is no danger to any other students or school personnel.

That's what I was thinking... what where the prinicipal or whoever it was doing looking through their phones? So a phone is being used during school hours. Then give the student detention or whatever, have them turn the phone off and hand it over until after school. But to start looking through their stuff? That's a parents right, not the schools. I'm not liking that whole thing at all.

Its one thing to confiscate a phone, its quite another to plunder through the phone looking for a thrill. The question will come up again, so at some point it will have to go court. I don't condone the pictures, but rights are more important in this case and morals.

I do NOT believe they sould be tried as criminals, however, they did not delete them off of their phone after recieving the photos.

When your children have their cellphones taken up, the smart ones hand them over withOUT the battery. Because the principal will go through your text messages. It is somewhere along the lines as monitoring the computers in the classroom and library. Apparently, A few fights, brawls, etc have been caught ahead of time....just by browsing through the messages of the ones caught. Think about it like this. Everytime there is a big fight, everyone is receiving a text message saying when and where. There was an idiot walking on school grounds waving a gun on the football field, and a text message was sent by one of the players to his father, who in turn contacted the police. Being a parent as well as an aunt; I am all for parents viewing the contents and phone list of each cell they pay a bill on. You would be surprised how many of your underage daughters are conversing with men over the age of 21; or how many of our children meeting to have orgies, etc. A lot of these things could be headed off at the path, if parents would stop trying to be their childs best friend. Be nosey and the principal wouldn't have too!

I totally agree Whoever took the phone is definately invading this guys privacy and should be charged for it , By admitting that he saw the pics he is also saying that he viewed the boys personal information , Our cellphones are no longer just phones they are our computer , organizer , camera , mp3 player , basicly they store our entier lives , and to access it without his permission is breaking the law . Punish the guilty not the innocent!

You are right....who is looking through the confiscated phone? I understand taking the phone away during school hours but cruising through the kid's text msgs., numbers, pics, etc..why isn't that being addressed???

This country is going down the tubes with all this crap> We have a small few that controll how everyone els is supposed to be, act and speak. This correctness is going out of controll?

When I was a kid guns were allowed in and on school grounds and we never had a problem, I don't get what it is now, It all has to come back to the parrents for the most? Just watch super nanny, lol and you will see the futur kids comming up in this world? Always the same thing, parrents don't want to be parents, just frinds and spoil the crap out of them.

The phones will be next, then the pens and paper wont be allowed in school, because they will send dirty letters to each other?

I completely agree with this!! there was clearly an invasion of privacy. schools should not be aloud to go through students stuff.
this is completely ridiculous. If the girls were sending them pictures it would be their fault if anything, but i still think this is a completely ridiculous charge.