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00:35 Mar 30 2009
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Newsday.com

NJ girl may dodge jail for nude MySpace photos



THE ASSOCIATED PRESS



4:15 PM EDT, March 27, 2009





A New Jersey girl arrested for posting nude pictures of herself on MySpace.com may avoid jail and sex offender laws, according to a prosecutor handling the case.



The 14-year-old Clifton girl was arrested this week and charged with child pornography and distribution of child pornography for allegedly posting nearly 30 explicit pictures on the social networking site.



The charges carry penalties of up to 17 years in jail, and those convicted of distribution of child pornography can be required to register as a sex offender.



Passaic County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Susan Greco on Friday said she can't talk specifically about the case because she has not yet received it from police or seen the photos.



"But generally speaking, a person charged with this, with no priors, would not get jail and would most likely not be required to register as a sex offender," Greco said.



Prosecutors were not consulted about the charges before police arrested the girl Tuesday but have vast discretion to recommend that the charges are changed.



Police were tipped off to the photos by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. After a monthlong investigation, they determined that the girl posted the pictures so her boyfriend could see them. She was arrested but released into her mother's custody.



A court date has not been set for her, Greco said.



On Thursday, Passaic County Sheriff's spokesman Bill Maer said police hoped the case serves as "a wake-up call to parents" that such activities can be considered criminal.



But many people are critical of the move by police to cite the girl with such a severe charge, including the mother of the Megan Kanka, whose death inspired Megan's Law. The law requires governments to alert neighbors of convicted sexual predators in their midst.



Maureen Kanka said authorities should "be ashamed of themselves" for charging the girl and that she hoped the girl won't have to register as a sex offender.



Seth Kreimer, a constitutional law professor at the University of Pennsylvania, agrees.



"To deploy the nuclear weapon of child pornography charges shows almost as bad judgment as posting the nude photos themselves," said Kreimer.



Kreimer is working with the American Civil Liberties Union to stop a Pennsylvania prosecutor from charging three teenage girls who authorities say took racy cell-phone pictures that ended up on classmates' cell phones.



Besides Pennsylvania and New Jersey, prosecutors in Connecticut, North Dakota, Ohio, Utah, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin have also tried to put a stop to kids sending nude photos to one another over cell phones and e-mail by charging the teens with child pornography.



"These issues are popping up in a series of different venues," Kreimer said. "As digital technology advances, more and more kids are doing stupid things."



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