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Don't treat kids who post sexy photos as sex offenders, says Megan's Law mom
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As a 14 year old girl awaits trial for sex crimes after posting naked photos of herself on MySpace, Maureen Kanka, the force behind the creation of Megan's Law, is speaking out. Kanka does not want teens who take photos of themselves naked to be turned into sex offenders by overzealous prosecutors.
In New Jersey this week, a 14 year old girl was arrested and charged with possession of child pornography, as well as distribution of child pornography, after she took naked photos of herself and posted them on the social networking site, MySpace. Her intention was to share them with her boyfriend. Investigators suggest the girl "knowingly" committed a crime by posting the photos, although they won't say anything more while the investigation continues. The 14 year old girl could face 17 years in prison and would be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of her life. The girl is now in the custody of her mother.
According to an Associated Press report published in the Seattle Times, Kanka, also a New Jersey resident, is horrified with the way prosecutors are using the law created in her daughter's name. Kanka's daughter, Megan, was raped and killed at age 7 by a twice-convicted sex offender. Megan's Law, which came about after the horrific crime, requires sex offenders to register in every community they live in and to list their offenses on job applications. Kanka is angry that children who post naked photos of themselves are being charged as sex offenders using Megan's Law.
"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," says Kanka.
Teen girls across the country are increasingly facing charges of possessing and distributing child pornography as they take photos of themselves. Because they are underage, any nude photos of themselves constitute child pornography, according to the law. By creating the photos themselves and sharing them, usually with their teen boyfriends, prosecutors are saying they are distributing child pornography. In most cases, they do not intend the photos to be widely distributed. Yet, when the photos are shared among classmates without the girl's consent, typically it is only the girl who gets in trouble.
In a local case, two Bothell teens were suspended from their cheerleading team last year after photos they took of themselves were distributed to students by members of the football team. The girls had not intended the photos to be shared. A student showed the photos to a member of the school staff and the high school took action. Although the girls faced sanctions because of the photos, the boys on the football team who widely distributed them did not face any repercussions. The girls have sued the school.
The answer to these problems is not to ruin the lives of girls who unwisely take nude photos of themselves. As Maureen Kanka said, these girls need counseling, not prosecution. Teens don't think through the consequences of their actions beyond the next few hours. They don't consider that the boy they love so much right now might share that photo of them. They don't imagine they could get in trouble for doing something of their own free will. They never consider they will be charged as a sex offender for what they consider harmless flirting.
That, though, is where the real problem lies. Why do so many young girls feel they need to sexualize themselves in order to please the boys around them? What can we do to help them find other ways to empower themselves, for surely, some of them misguidedly consider these acts as empowering.
Prosecutors shouldn't be treating these girls as sex offenders, even if they want to send a message to other kids. The other kids won't get the message- teens believe themselves invincible. Why ruin a child's entire life over a stupid photo?
Read more:
Get the local New Jersey perspective here: Why girl who sent nude pix isn't a sex offender
NJ girl, 14, arrested after posting nude pics
Cheerleaders' parents sue in nude photos incident
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