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30 Child. Legal Rts. J. 60 (2010)
Picture This: Legal Consequences of Teen Sexting, an Interview with Laurie Gray, Former Deputy Prosecutor of Allen County, Indiana

handle is hein.journals/clrj30 and id is 336 raw text is: 60 ior toward others. Furthermore, Shariff argues that the Model illustrates that a reactive approach to dealing with cyberbullying (i.e., suspensions, expulsions, cen- sorship of student expression and use of technologies) results in indirect condoning of discriminatory attitudes by not directly confronting the issue through educa- tion and discussion of people's differences. Moreover, she argues that a reactive approach generally reduces student safety because it encourages racism, sexism, homophobia and other forms of discrimination by not allowing such frank discussions to take place. Shariff concludes that reactive and positivist ap- proaches to combating cyberbullying, such as censoring student web sites and emails, are not the most effective means. In fact, she argues that such school discipline policies are least successful in preventing cyberbullying behavior since they do not directly address the underly- ing issue of intolerance. In short, cyberbullying cannot be blamed solely on the students. Shariff believes that a reconsideration of the school climate and the values and beliefs imparted in the confines of an educational envi- ronment should promote acceptance and respect among students. She maintains that schools have a mandated responsibility to educate students, not punish them. Ul- timately, Shariff proposes that educators should allow students to engage with technology in the classroom, but teachers should educate students on where the line should be drawn in terms of what is ethically, socially and legally acceptable. Source: Shaheen Shariff, Confronting Cyber-Bullying: What Schools Need to Know to Control Misconduct and Avoid Legal Consequences (2009). Picture This: Legal Consequences of Teen Sexting, an Interview with Laurie Gray, Former Deputy Prosecutor of Allen County, Indiana By Rita O'Connor In the wrong hands, an ordinarily harmless tool can eas- ily become a weapon-one that may hit the target as well as backfire. It may be difficult to imagine that a device as useful and necessary for safety as a cell phone could be used as such a weapon. When used inappro- priately, however, cell phones can become sexting weapons used for pleasure, pain and sometimes the prosecution of the sender as well as the recipient. Sexting involves sending sexually explicit or nude photos of oneself or others via cell phone. Al- though meant to be a private communication, the pho- tos can be easily transmitted to public websites and an infinite number of cell phones by pranksters or jilted lovers. An unexpected anomaly occurs when teens sext: the victim, often the individual featured in the photos who sends the original sext, may be charged with the same crime as the initial recipient or others who post the photos on public websites. Adolescents often do not comprehend that this flirtatious activity may be pros- ecuted as a felony and result in their inclusion on a sex offender registry, in some cases for up to twenty-five years. The laws invoked to prosecute sexting predate this activity and were enacted to address child exploitation, child pornography and obscenity, but not adolescent behavior influenced by bad judgment. In many states, laws pertaining to images of naked minors have not been updated as quickly as technology has evolved. And therein lies the problem. Laurie Gray, who was a Deputy Prosecuting Attor- ney in Allen County, Indiana, for ten years believes that the laws used to punish teen sexters send double mes- sages. In Indiana, Gray says, A sixteen-year-old can legally engage in sexual activity with anyone who is not a family member or person in authority, but cannot photograph it on a cell phone and legally transmit it. Furthermore, she states that in Indiana engaging in sex- ual acts with minors under the age of fourteen is child molestation, but minors age fourteen and above can le- gally engage in some consensual sexual acts. Gray asks, If it's not illegal for them to ... engage in sexual acts, should it be illegal for them to take or send naked pic- tures of themselves? As the deputy in charge of reviewing and making charging decisions for all juvenile sex offenses in Allen County, Gray used a common-sense approach when examining sexting cases. The situations usually in- volved teens photographing themselves in the nude and sending the pictures to a boyfriend or girlfriend. Gray says that while sexting is technically illegal, it should not be considered criminal unless an adult is taking and disseminating lewd pictures of a child. However, she also believes that if the sexting behavior seems to be particularly malicious or part of a predatory pattern then criminal charges should be considered. Gray notes Children's Legal Rights Journal

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