The Gator’s back to school blog for families! (3 of 3)

This is the third but most important tip for parents. Sticky topic but one that needs attention!

3. Thou Shall Not Put Mommy And Daddy In Jail On Child Pornography Charges!!!

Unfortunately due to the proliferation of smart phones and other digital media devices, Sexting and sexual explicit digital material shared between minor’s has become an important topic for families to discuss with theirg school age children this school year.

Their are the obvious facts of this topic that can be discussed at appropriate times, but some may not be so obvious and can be very disruptive to the family if not totally destructive. Some examples are given to show why this topic’s discussion is not to be avoided.

What makes these childhood developmental issues so pressing and paradoxical is the laws meant to protect them while they are developing are now harming them, their classmates and their families. The main reason in general is that no matter who took the photograph and for whatever reason, any recipient is guilty of “possession” of child pornography if the “media” shows male or female genitalia of someone under the age of 18 in the United States. This is a very serious and pertinent point as anyone who has “possession” of the “media” is guilty of the crime, even if they are not aware of possessing the media at the time. Another related problematic crime is distribution of Child Pornography which can be attributed to the minor.

An important point to know is that the “media” could be many things. Examples are Jpeg picture files on a phones memory chip, or sent e-mails with pictures on a laptops email program to name just two possible sources.

For example, If little Johnny take a quick pick of his privates to show his new girlfriend in class but leaves the photo in the fathers laptop email program, the father can now go to jail if while at work, the company security software picks it up! Suddenly Johnny’s father is called into the manager’s office, instantly fired and quickly handed to the waiting sheriff to transport off to jail as a disgusting pervert. Meanwhile Johnny’s father is totally clueless as to how anything like that got on his PC as he frantically calls his attorney!

Here is another example just as debilitating for all involved. Not so little anymore Suzy wants to show Jake the new hot kid in school what she’s got! Problem is Mom won’t give her a camera phone. No problem, she’ll just barrow mom’s phone and e-mail them from there. Problem is mom’s phone is from work and goes through the company’s mail server. Oops! Next day it’s the same thing for poor Suzy’s mother as she’s terminated and sent off to jail for possession and distribution of child pornography! To bad for Mommy that turning 50 shades of red in front of work friends does nothing to prevent an exit in handcuffs to jail.

These simple examples are by no means all-encompassing, and are not to be taken as legal advice. However, they do show that what might be seen as a topic to avoid, can easily become a topic that can have very serious consequences for all involved.

Please read more at Wikipedia’s Sexting page by clicking here to learn more about the issue and how to prevent it.

Let me know what you think out there! Were these tips helpful?