Should teens be punished for making/distributing porn?

[Scalietti]

Ok, this is an offshoot of the legal Child porn thread.

My point is, the majority of child porn in the world was made by the child featured in the film. Most of the time, its some horny 14 year old girl making a dirty video of herself for her boyfriend, or some girl taking some photos of herself for whatever the hell reason.
Now, some others who come across this stuff end up sending it out to everyone, or showing it to everyone. This really ends up badly for the people involved, and can get really messy.

Now, there are several rules being broken along the way. #1 is the creation of child pornography, #2 is the distribution of child pornography.

Who should be punished? What should the punishent be?

[Errinundera]

The child, no. They are not legally responsible.

The adult distributor, yes, if they are breaking the law.

[Madazi]

Child pornography laws were created with the intention to keep older folks who know what they're doing from deliberately abusing underage kids who don't fully understand what they're getting into. It wasn't meant to keep 14 year old Jenny Mc'Dumbass from sending a naked picture of herself to her boyfriend, who shouldn't be punished because he didn't necessarily ask for it to be made.

All of these teen "child pornography" cases boil down to high-schoolers being what they're best at, idiots. Let's focus on prosecuting the -real- menace to society and children, not high school idiots.

[Scalietti]

The child, no. They are not legally responsible.

The adult distributor, yes, if they are breaking the law.

what if the distributor in this case was a child? What happens there?

[Madazi]

The child, no. They are not legally responsible.

The adult distributor, yes, if they are breaking the law.

what if the distributor in this case was a child? What happens there?

A swift kick in the ass.

[Scalietti]

who shouldn't be punished because he didn't necessarily ask for it to be made.

What if he sends it to his friends?

Let's focus on prosecuting the -real- menace to society and children, not high school idiots.

You would be suprised at the rates of intances of these cases. Some people would argue its a big problem, this can get very messy and lead to a lot of problems for all parties involved

[Rhodmhire]

Those who made and distributed the pornography should be charged and sentenced to the punishment(s) most suitable.

The child? There's a shit storm of circumstances that could constitute the child to be rightfully punished--worse than the distributors/creators, or let off without any charges at all.

So I'll take a neutral stance and let circumstance dominate.

[Rhodmhire]

The child, no. They are not legally responsible.

The adult distributor, yes, if they are breaking the law.

what if the distributor in this case was a child? What happens there?

A swift kick in the ass.

...Which will be photographed/taped and distributed on the Internet as child pornography.

See why you have to think first?

[Madazi]

who shouldn't be punished because he didn't necessarily ask for it to be made.

What if he sends it to his friends?

Let's focus on prosecuting the -real- menace to society and children, not high school idiots.

You would be suprised at the rates of intances of these cases. Some people would argue its a big problem, this can get very messy and lead to a lot of problems for all parties involved

You make a point I missed, thank you.

Now -that- enters another realm. I think there should be -some- level of prosecution. However, not the attachment of 'sexual predator' that would usually come with these sentences, which would ruin a kid's life for a simple stupid act.

Now, that being said, if you can prove it was forwarded with the intention to either make a profit or for malicious intent, then bring down the full extent of the law, yes. My argument focused on a recent local case of girlfriend-to-boyfriend 'porn', in which it was a very simple thing of idiocy. But you're right when it gets to the point you mentioned.

[Errinundera]

The child, no. They are not legally responsible.

The adult distributor, yes, if they are breaking the law.

what if the distributor in this case was a child? What happens there?

That's a difficult question. A kick in the arse, as someone else puts it, almost seems the way to go. I mean, the child has been let down seriously by her friends. And, of course, that sort of thing happens among friends.

The friends seem, to me, to be more culpable than the originator so I think some sort of legal sanction is appropriate, however the penalty should be light. Counselling, perhaps.

[Madazi]

The child, no. They are not legally responsible.

The adult distributor, yes, if they are breaking the law.

what if the distributor in this case was a child? What happens there?

That's a difficult question. A kick in the arse, as someone else puts it, almost seems the way to go. I mean, the child has been let down seriously by her friends. And, of course, that sort of thing happens among friends.

The friends seem, to me, to be more culpable than the originator so I think some sort of legal sanction is appropriate, however the penalty should be light. Counselling, perhaps.

This ^

Better said than I could.

[Scalietti]

who shouldn't be punished because he didn't necessarily ask for it to be made.

What if he sends it to his friends?

Let's focus on prosecuting the -real- menace to society and children, not high school idiots.

You would be suprised at the rates of intances of these cases. Some people would argue its a big problem, this can get very messy and lead to a lot of problems for all parties involved

You make a point I missed, thank you.

Now -that- enters another realm. I think there should be -some- level of prosecution. However, not the attachment of 'sexual predator' that would usually come with these sentences, which would ruin a kid's life for a simple stupid act.

Now, that being said, if you can prove it was forwarded with the intention to either make a profit or for malicious intent, then bring down the full extent of the law, yes. My argument focused on a recent local case of girlfriend-to-boyfriend 'porn', in which it was a very simple thing of idiocy. But you're right when it gets to the point you mentioned.

This is true and one of the reasons why its a sticky subject. Having a criminal senctence really would wreck the kids life, but still, I think they need to be shown the magnitude of what they have done.

That's a difficult question. A kick in the arse, as someone else puts it, almost seems the way to go. I mean, the child has been let down seriously by her friends. And, of course, that sort of thing happens among friends.

The friends seem, to me, to be more culpable than the originator so I think some sort of legal sanction is appropriate, however the penalty should be light. Counselling, perhaps.

This is also very true. Counselling may help the situation, however I don't think it would have a great effect. Many a time, the kids don't know what they are actually doing.

[Vault 10]

Being teens is enough of a reason to punish them already, no need to make it personal.

[Errinundera]

You put most young kids up before the police or court official they'll be shitting themselves, especially if their parents impress upon their children the gravity of the situation.

[Scalietti]

You put most young kids up before the police or court official they'll be shitting themselves, especially if their parents impress upon their children the gravity of the situation.

What I meant was, they would have learnt their lesson well before the counselling took place.

[Madazi]

who shouldn't be punished because he didn't necessarily ask for it to be made.

What if he sends it to his friends?

Let's focus on prosecuting the -real- menace to society and children, not high school idiots.

You would be suprised at the rates of intances of these cases. Some people would argue its a big problem, this can get very messy and lead to a lot of problems for all parties involved

You make a point I missed, thank you.

Now -that- enters another realm. I think there should be -some- level of prosecution. However, not the attachment of 'sexual predator' that would usually come with these sentences, which would ruin a kid's life for a simple stupid act.

Now, that being said, if you can prove it was forwarded with the intention to either make a profit or for malicious intent, then bring down the full extent of the law, yes. My argument focused on a recent local case of girlfriend-to-boyfriend 'porn', in which it was a very simple thing of idiocy. But you're right when it gets to the point you mentioned.

This is true and one of the reasons why its a sticky subject. Having a criminal senctence really would wreck the kids life, but still, I think they need to be shown the magnitude of what they have done.

That's a difficult question. A kick in the arse, as someone else puts it, almost seems the way to go. I mean, the child has been let down seriously by her friends. And, of course, that sort of thing happens among friends.

The friends seem, to me, to be more culpable than the originator so I think some sort of legal sanction is appropriate, however the penalty should be light. Counselling, perhaps.

This is also very true. Counselling may help the situation, however I don't think it would have a great effect. Many a time, the kids don't know what they are actually doing.

Perhaps do a night or two in the local jail, plus counseling? Set up a hyper-intimidating 'trial'?

Pretty much scare the crap out of them so they get what they did was wrong. Teens respond to fear -real- well.

[Lackadaisical2]

Being teens is enough of a reason to punish them already, no need to make it personal.

I think the scare the shit out of them tactic would probably work pretty well if no one was actually harmed in this case. If anything malicious was attempted, scare the hell out of them a little worse, up to jail, if it was particularly horrible.

[RightLeaningChristians]

No.


*fap fap fap*

[Saint Jade IV]

In the majority of cases, the teenager who was dumb enough to send rude pictures or videos to her/his boyfriend/girlfriend, and not expect him/her to show his/her friends needs a good kick up the arse, as does the idiot flashing it around. I do not ever think that for things like this, court, arrest or trial is appropriate. I think they all need a good talking to by parents, and to lose their mobile phone privileges until they are responsible enough to have them.

Where it is done with intent to hurt the person or people involved, or exploit them for money, then we need to look at lawsuits and police involvement. When it's teenagers being teenagers, lets not waste resources or the court's time.

[Tunizcha]

Above 14-15 and all parties consent: No problemo.

[Fartsniffage]

So long as it ends up with more "My Girlfriend" files on Kazaa I'm all for it.

[Tahar Joblis]

FWIW, I don't think it's worth classifying teenagers as children once they've sprung up. It's not "child" porn in any sense but the legal...

... and in that sense, I think the law should reflect reality a little bit here. If the sex is legal in the first place, them taping themselves and distributing it non-commercially really doesn't make a difference, now, does it? I mean, seriously. Some states I could walk into a shopping mall, pick up a willing 16 year old, and fuck her brains out - legal. Now, if I were another sixteen year old, and took a cell phone picture of her suggestively exposing her breast to me, that would be a federal offense.

The same federal offense, in fact, that some old dude would get for fingering his six year old niece in front of a live webcamera. How's that for a spectrum of offenses? I remember a "sexting" case we talked about here, and it was just ridiculous to read about teenagers facing multiple counts for sending pictures of themselves to other teens.

[Anarko-Punx]

All pornography in question should be sent to the nearest pervert who should choose the (humiliating) punishment

[Cameroi]

only if they try to make money selling it.

[Folk Metals]

In the majority of cases, the teenager who was dumb enough to send rude pictures or videos to her/his boyfriend/girlfriend, and not expect him/her to show his/her friends needs a good kick up the arse, as does the idiot flashing it around. I do not ever think that for things like this, court, arrest or trial is appropriate. I think they all need a good talking to by parents, and to lose their mobile phone privileges until they are responsible enough to have them.

Where it is done with intent to hurt the person or people involved, or exploit them for money, then we need to look at lawsuits and police involvement. When it's teenagers being teenagers, lets not waste resources or the court's time.

^ Best answer so far.

(Though some before were really really good too.)