Court asked to allow prosecution for “sexting”
I am eagerly awaiting the decision on this case (info and documents from ACLU) from a federal court of appeals that is hearing arguments today.
What’s fascinating about it is that there is no federal legal precedent, to my knowledge, establishing whether pictures that only show female breasts or a bra, without any sex act occurring, can be legally considered child pornography. State prosecutors have been charging teens as though it does qualify.
In US v Knox (1994), a US supreme court decided that a “lascivious” (this is the legal definition) focus on a minor’s clothed genitals was enough for a picture to qualify as child pornography.
Amy A. Hasinoff 