In the latest case of #BAWTFNews, two North Carolina teens are hit with child pornography charges after sexting. No, this doesn’t involve an 18+ year old and a newly affirmed teen. This is a case between a 17year old guy and his 16 year old girlfriend, both whom engaged in consensual sexting.
Via RawStory.com
“17-year-old boy is facing a whopping 10 years in prison for what 54 percent of teens confess to doing – sexting nude photos of himself to his girlfriend.
Cormega Copening from North Carolina is facing five counts of second-degree and third-degree sexual exploitation, and he’s even being charged as an adult since the state’s age of criminal responsibility is 16.
Local authorities discovered that Copening and his girlfriend were exchanging nude photos of themselves when they were both 16. It’s unclear why authorities searched their phones in the first place, but since they were both underaged at the time the pictures were taken, they are accused of sharing child pornography. Reports indicate that no one other than the two saw the pictures.
Copening’s girlfriend already pleaded guilty to a lesser charge, and was sentenced to one year of probation.
Sergeant Sean Swain from North Carolina’s Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office told The Independent that “as a minimum, with no prior history, a felony charge means two years in prison,” which means the teen could face at 10 years if he’s found guilty on each count.
Copening’s name would also be added to the sex offenders’ registry for 10 years, the sergeant said. Although he hasn’t been convicted of a crime yet, he has already been kicked off his high school’s football team where he played as a quarterback…”
This is where I contort my face with great perplexity and bewilderment. If the teens can be tried as an adult for a crime (legally without special circumstances), isn’t it a bit of a double standard and hypocrisy to consider them a child in the realms of nudity. Either they are adults or they are children, but they cannot be both or the other when convenient. It has to be some measure of consistency. Are their not enough “real” crimes to handle in North Carolina? Aren’t there criminals that need a decent Burger King meal before they are booked?
Let this be a lesson to all mini-adults, leave the sexting alone. Better yet, unless textual evidence may be needed in the future ( i.e. documentation) , hide the memory in your heart.
-Niko Rose
