By BETH DeFALCO, Associated Press Writer Beth Defalco, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 14 mins ago

"TRENTON, N.J. – A 14-year-old New Jersey girl has been accused of child pornography after posting nearly 30 explicit nude pictures of herself on MySpace.com — charges that could force her to register as a sex offender if convicted.

The case comes as prosecutors nationwide pursue child pornography cases resulting from kids sending nude photos to one another over cell phones and e-mail. Legal experts, though, could not recall another case of a child porn charge resulting from a teen's posting to a social networking site.

MySpace would not comment on the New Jersey investigation, but the company has a team that reviews its network for inappropriate images. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children tipped off a state task force, which alerted the Passaic County Sheriff's Office.

The office investigated and discovered the Clifton resident had posted the "very explicit" photos of herself, sheriff's spokesman Bill Maer said Thursday.

"We consider this case a wake-up call to parents," Maer said. The girl posted the photos because "she wanted her boyfriend to see them," he said.

Investigators are looking at individuals who "knowingly" committed a crime, he said, declining to comment further because the case is still being investigated.

The teen, whose name has not been released because of her age, was arrested and charged with possession of child pornography and distribution of child pornography. She was released to her mother's custody.

If convicted of the distribution charge, she would be forced to register with the state as a sex offender under Megan's Law, said state Attorney General Anne Milgram. She also could face up to 17 years in jail, though such a stiff sentence is unlikely.

Some observers — including the New Jersey mother behind the creation of Megan's Law — are criticizing the trend of prosecuting teens who send racy text messages or post illicit photos of themselves.

Maureen Kanka — whose daughter, Megan, became the law's namesake after she was raped and killed at age 7 in 1994 by a twice-convicted sex offender — blasted authorities for charging the 14-year-old girl.

The teen needs help, not legal trouble, she said.

"This shouldn't fall under Megan's Law in any way, shape or form. She should have an intervention and counseling, because the only person she exploited was herself."

Called "sexting" when it's done by cell phone, teenagers' habit of sending sexually suggestive photos of themselves and others to one another is a nationwide problem that has confounded parents, school administrators and law enforcers.

Prosecutors in states including Pennsylvania, Connecticut, North Dakota, Ohio, Utah, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin have tried stop it by charging teens who send and receive the pictures.

In northeastern Pennsylvania, a prosecutor recently threatened to file child porn charges against three teenage girls who authorities say took racy cell-phone pictures that ended up on classmates' cell phones.

The MySpace case may be a first, though.

"I'm not sure I've seen a prosecution like this coming out of a social networking site," said Seth Kreimer, a constitutional law professor at the University of Pennsylvania.

Milgram, the attorney general, could not recall another such case in New Jersey. She cautioned parents to get on those sites and monitor what their kids are talking about and posting.

"Unfortunately, youth don't have the same judgment as adults," she said, "and often, adults don't have the same technical savvy as the youth."

This is so dumb She's a 14 year old girl.

Worst misuse of an extremely important law.

JustErin said:

Your comment is perfect JustErin.

JustErin said:

Exactly. So stupid.

yeah, this is totally out of control. i think they're tripping.

I'm gonna post my titties up here...let me see y'all arrest me.

















Oh wait,I ain't 14 but ya know...

KidaDynamite said:

POST

POST

POST

DanceWme said:

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

fucked up emote edit
[Edited 3/27/09 11:22am]

KidaDynamite said:

ow ... wait ...

BlueZebra said:

KidaDynamite said:

BlueZebra said:

KidaDynamite said:

KidaDynamite said:

MOM !

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

Absolutely, and unfortunately when it comes to the law and rapidly adaptable technology which the law has serious problems keeping up with, you get really overzealous and misapplied cases like this. There's a case going on in Pennsylvania where the local D.A. persecuted a family because her daughter sent photos of herself in just a bra and panties to a friend and threatened to send her to jail for child pornography. The family got the help of the ACLU and is now suing the D.A.'s office for violating their civil liberties.

This issue about sexting came up on the Today show last week, and one of the ACLU experts who they had on as a counterpoint to the overzealous family values advocate made a good point about how the law could be misconstrued to punitively punish someone for life for sending nude photos of themselves if they happen to a day under the age of 18, yet on their 18th birthday they can send as many nude and incredibly graphic sexual photos of themselves to any consenting adult they want to send it to without incident. He ultimately stated that this should be treated as a sex education issue and that the court system is the worst place to educate teens about sexting.

Imago aint 14..haha

It's like they are putting her in the same category as child molesters or pervs.

peacenlovealways said:

If she were having sex with her boyfriend he could be charged as a sex offender.
As if teens don't have consensual sex.

But this is law people wanted and got.
Now applying the law is a problem?

JustErin said:

I AGREE 100%!!!

God, this is stupid. The kid is a sex offender for posting photos of herself?

SUPRMAN said:

yes because that was never the spirit of the law and you know it. I can't stand literalists

This is extremely stupid. But I'm also wondering how the people who wrote the law didn't see that the law could be abused in this way... it's something that should have been clarified in the law...
[Edited 3/27/09 15:49pm]

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

agreed

coolcat said:

Were sites like MySpace around when the law was first passed?

KidaDynamite said: