The advent of many modern technologies such as smartphones, the Internet and webcams have made it extremely easy for people to take and share photos and videos of themselves. While this is used in many wonderful ways to share memories such as wedding photos or the birth of a child, it has also gained a great deal of popularity in satisfying sexual desires. Unfortunately, this can lead to some serious issues involving sex crimes. Many people, including teenagers, take explicit or nude photos of themselves and send them to significant others.
Even if you do not engage in these behaviors, it could still affect you; you may not even realize until it is too late. Currently, the law in Louisiana is very strict when it comes to child pornography, and laws have not yet been applied or incorporated to consider the different applications of “selfies” and “sexting” in the context of the law. As it stands, simply being discovered with child pornography of any kind can often lead to serious legal penalties.
Does your child have a smartphone capable of taking and sending pictures? Is that smartphone on a family data plan that is connected to an account with your name on it? Do you have a family computer that you child sometimes uses? It may not occur to you, but your child may exchange explicit photos with another person under the age of consent, and then place those photos on your computer and delete them from the phone in order to keep them secret. Unfortunately for you, if someone else discovers these photos on your computer, you could be accused of child pornography, even if you did not know they were there.
This is just one example of how exchanging explicit photos can have serious legal ramifications. It is important to know that children are not always exempt from these laws either, and even consensual exchange of photos can be considered a child pornography issue. If you have been accused of child pornography or if you are worried that your child is engaging in such behavior and you want to know more about the legal consequences, consider meeting with an attorney.