A Flash in the Pan

Getting labeled a sex offender carries with it a burden of lifetime reporting of movement and residence as well as some pretty strict restrictions of where the offender can live… not near kids, that’s for sure. But for some youngsters, sexting a photo of their girlfriend, even if only a year or two younger than they are, can result in prosecution for having engaged in child pornography… and that carries that nasty sex offender label and all that goes with it… for life. Maybe an anomaly, maybe not exactly the kind of behavior that should, perhaps, carry such dire lifetime consequences, but it is what it is. And while in prison, folks labeled as having engaged in kiddie porn are marked inmates, likely to be targets of violence and even death from other inmates.

Well, lifetime-consequences fans, particularly those living in California, there is probably going to be a new sex crime added to the list. They call it “revenge porn.” Posting sexually explicit or nude photographs of a lover or spouse after the breakup… to get even. “Scorned lovers have long sought revenge on exes, but in the age of the Internet, smartphone cameras and YouTube, it's a whole new ballgame.

“On [August 27^th], the California State Assembly debated Senate Bill 255, which would make revenge porn a misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in prison and a $2,000 fine. The bill cleared the Senate by a 37-1 earlier this summer…  ‘Right now law enforcement has no tools to combat revenge porn or cyber-revenge,’ said Sen. Anthony Cannella (R-Ceres), who proposed the bill, in a statement. ‘Unfortunately it is a growing trend and there are a lot of victims out there, a lot more than I ever imagined. It's destroying people's lives.’

“The bill has drawn tension between privacy advocates who cite the victims, and free speech advocates like the ACLU, who argued that the content is Constitutionally protected… High-profile incidents such as the suicide of Audrie Pott have shined a spotlight on the issue in recent years. Pott was a California teen who was allegedly sexually assaulted while passed out a party after drinking. Nude photos of her were allegedly circulated throughout the school in the days leading up to her suicide.

“Current legislation prohibits filming or photographing a person fully or partially undressed in a private place without their consent. The new bill would include photos or videos taken with their consent when it is then distributed without permission with the intention of causing distress.” Huffington Post, August 27^th.  But a sex crime? Probably not… A misdemeanor? Yup.

“This bill would provide that any person who photographs or records by any means the image of another, identifiable person with his or her consent who is in a state of full or partial undress in any area in which the person being photographed or recorded has a reasonable expectation of privacy, and subsequently distributes the image taken, and the other person suffers serious emotional distress would constitute disorderly conduct subject to that same punishment.” Legislative description.

Okay, maybe it won’t be prosecuted as a sex crime, but is there really a difference between the teen sexting his GF’s image and this statute? Shouldn’t the teen face the disorderly conduct prosecution instead, if there is a difference of less than __(??) years between the ages of the “model” and the “photographer/publisher”? What are your feelings about these “crimes”?

But then, you could finder harsher laws in a few other countries: “Unconfirmed reports claim the ex-girlfriend of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was executed by firing squad along with 11 others, after the group allegedlymade and sold a sex tape… Hyon Song Wol, a singer in North Korea's famed Unhasu Orchestra, was killed by machine gun along with 11 other members of the orchestra and the Wangjaesan Light Music Band, another popular state-run music group in North Korea, according to a report in The Chosun Ilbo, South Korea's largest daily newspaper.” Huffington Post, August 30^th. Hmmm, a bit harsh, eh?

I’m Peter Dekom, and new technology creates new crimes every time!