Politician and law enforcers are struggling with the rampant issue of sexting. Authorities are now trying to find a middle ground between prosecution and just letting them off the hook.
Explicit images of minors are considered child pornography on many states even when shared among themselves. They can be charged with felony which in turn bring them in prison and will be registered as a lifetime sex offender as per ABC News.
A number of authorities, on the other hand, consider this sanction as an overkill. At least 20 states are considering less-serious penalties on sexting. Eleven states have already made sexting as a plain misdemeanor. Young offenders are required to join a course regarding the dangers of social media instead of charging them criminally. 12 states, on the other hand, are considering sexting laws this year to create a new category of crime applicable to young people.
In Colorado, a new proposed law is stirring the state. Prosecutors and researchers are now disagreeing whether to consider sexting a crime or not. The bill started last year after 100 students in Canon City high school were found to possess explicit images of other teens. Dozens of teens were suspended from school. The Fremont County prosecutors haven't filed any charges though due to the broadness of the law that Colorado have against sexting.
A similar case last year, however, of two dating teens that exchanged nude selfies in Fayetteville, North Carolina had been charged with a felony which started an uproar among citizens and was reduced to a mere misdemeanor case. The state of Colorado classified sexting as a felony which is said to be punishable by up to 12 years in prison.
According to Republican Yeulin Willet of Grand Junction who sponsored the bill said they only want to get away with the life-altering and devastating effect of felony charges by having lower level crimes. As reported by Fox 31, Mesa County District attorney Dan Rubenstein said they want the law to be a deterrent against the issue.
On the other hand, Carrie Thompson of the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar said that even a misdemeanor charge for sexting is still broad because it is common. She added that even a minor contact with the justice system for a petty crime will have a certain component of shame and humiliation to it, according to the Colorado Public Radio.
The decision regarding the bill is still put off by the Colorado House committee. Willet said that he will change his proposal to make teen sexting a petty crime which will be punishable by up to 6 months only.
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