Teen Sexting and Use Technology Properly
Not a lot of teens, or people in general, use technology properly. When using technology one has to be very carful of what they do. When one has intagram they should have their account on private, especially if they are a minor. One should also not use their name in their name in their user-name. This is the same with snapchat, facebook, or any type of social-media. If someone who one doesn’t know follows them on instagram they should deny that persons follow request, and if one still has their account public they should block that person and make their account private. If someone that one does not know adds them on snapchat then they should block them. One should never text someone who they do not know.
There are not a lot of people, especially teens that use the internet unsafely. If someone comments on a post on intagram there are thousands of people who see that comment even if one deletes it later on, even if they delete it just a few minutes later there has still been many people who have viewed it. There are a lot of people who say abusive, revealing, and many other bad things in comments. Lots of times they do it because they are mad at that person and want to do something that will make them feel bad. This can lead to many things like depression, abuse, bullying, cyber bullying, suicide, and many others.
There is nothing good that comes out of teens sexting. In Washington there is no law specifically about teens sexting. When teens sext in Washington it is put under the laws of sexual exploitation of children. In an article about teen sexting laws in Washington in Criminal Defense Lawyer published by NOLO it states “ Washington’s law against communication with a minor for immoral purposes covers sending sexual images of juveniles (people younger than 18) in text messages.” Sexting can also be a crime under federal law. “Children could end up with a lifelong sex offender registration requirement, merely for taking a picture of themselves.”, was said in an article about teen sexting in Law Office of Timothy L. Healy.
For possessing first degree sexual images one could be charged with a Class B Felony which is 12-14 months in prison followed by three years of Community Custody or Probation. Multiple counts can be sentenced up to ten years in prison. One could also be charged with a second degree Class C felony which is 3-9 months in County Jail followed by one year of Community Custody or Probation. Multiple counts can be sentenced up to 5 years in prison.
For viewing first degree sexual images one could be charged with a Class B Felony which is 12-14 months in prison followed by three years on Community custody or Probation. Multiple counts can be sentenced up to 10 years in prison. One could also be charged with a second degree Class C Felony which is 0-12 months in county jail followed by 1 year of Community Custody or Probation. Multiple counts can be sentenced up to 5 years in prison. That information was found in an article about Child Pornography Laws in Washington on the website FindLaw.
