In the Northwest Indiana article titled “Sexting case highlights quandary over child porn laws” a case taking place in Fayetteville, North Carolina. The case involves two teens who exchanged “naked selfies”. The photo was found in October of 2014 when the mother of the male teenager allowed investigators looking into a suspected statutory rape to look through her child’s phone without a search warrant. Although the teen, was not considered a suspect or a witness, investigators believed that there may be information about the case on his phone. Throughout the investigation of his phone, a picture of the teen’s girlfriend who was determined to be underage was found by authorities, initiating the sexting investigation. The two teens involved …show more content…
In Illinois as of January of 2011, minors found to be sexting will not be charged under the child pornography laws but instead may be sentenced to supervision, counseling, and or community service. Minors caught will not be required to register as a sex offender however, anyone who is eighteen or older who is found to be sexting a minor can still be charged and prosecuted under Illinois child pornography laws. In Kentucky, there are not currently sexting-specific laws in place, but anyone, including a minor, can be prosecuted under child pornography laws for creating, distributing or possessing sexually explicit material of a minor. In Ohio, they currently do not have a sexting laws. Similar to Kentucky, Ohio’s law states that anyone regardless of age can be charged under the state’s child pornography laws for sexting. It is a second degree felony and if convicted, a minor may be required to register as a sex offender. Along with Kentucky and Ohio, Wisconsin also does not have a sexting statute. Anyone who creates, sends, or possesses a sexually explicit image of a minor can be charged under the child pornography laws however, a minor under the age of eighteen who possesses a sexually explicit image of a minor can be charged with a felony. Missouri does in fact have a sexting-specific law. The law states that a minor who is found to be possessing or distributing sexually explicit material of a minor may be charged with a misdemeanor without needing to register as a sex