10 months ago
LEBANON, OHIO -- A county prosecutor and two state legislators have proposed a state law dealing with "sexting," when teens send naked pictures of themselves to each other through a text message.
More and more teens are doing it -- an estimated one in five -- but state and local laws generally have no current provisions to deal specifically with "sexting."
That's why Warren County Prosecutor Rachel Hutzel said it was time to bring Ohio's laws into the 21st century.
"What we have hit against is the collision of juvenile lack of judgment and the power of technology," Hutzel said at a news conference on Monday.
She was joined by two state lawmakers and the parents of Jessie Logan, a Cincinnati 18-year-old who died by suicide after the naked picture of herself which she "sexted," that is sent on her cell phone, was forwarded to nearly everyone in her high school.
"She snapped. It was just too much for an 18-year-old girl to go through," Jessie's mother Cynthia said at the time.
Today Cynthia Logan said she was there to speak for her daughter and try to educate teenagers on the dangers of sexting.
She backs the law that would reduce "sexting" from a felony to a first degree misdemeanor, and eliminate the possibility of a teenage offender being labeled a sex offender for years.
"There are going to be serious consequences," Logan said, "so I would hope that they would be smart enough to not to do, like, take a picture of themselves."
Senate Bill 103 is also meant to educate teens about the dangers of sending and receiving lewd and sexually oriented pictures with their cell phones, said state representative Ronald Maag.
"Kids at 17 years old, they don't understand the ramifications of this," says Maag. "It sounds cute. It sounds harmless. The college admissions officer can see it. The future employers can see it. Their children could see it."
Cynthia Logan agrees. "It can follow them forever. It can ruin their lives as far as careers, college entries. If they decide to get married, how will they explain this to their children?"
Other states are also just beginning to address the phenomenon of "sexting." While Ohio is trying to codify its response, the state legislature in Vermont is considering making it legal for children between the ages of 13 and 18 to send such pictures to each other.
Utah has made "sexting" a misdemeanor, but other states such as New Jersey and Florida still have provisions in which the consequences of sending naked pictures by cell phone can include jail time, felony charges, and having to register as a sex offender for as long as 25 years.
Click HERE to enter a DVD giveaway for schools to educated teens on the dangers of "sexting."
