Times have changed, so should laws

A 15-year-old girl in Latrobe, Pa. is being charged with possession of child pornography,… A 15-year-old girl in Latrobe, Pa. is being charged with possession of child pornography, dissemination of child pornography and sexual abuse of children.

The child in question? It’s her.

The girl, whose identity is being withheld by police, took sexually explicit photographs of herself and sent them to people she met online in chat rooms, and now she’s facing charges for her actions.

Without a doubt, she is on the wrong side of the law, and has certainly disseminated and possessed child porn. However, charging her with these crimes is addressing the wrong end of the equation.

The law has a vested interest in protecting her, in this case from herself, as well as from the potentially creepy folks to whom she sent the pictures. She should be held accountable for her actions, but not in this way.

Her punishment should be different from others that would be charged for these crimes, even though, literally, she did commit them. The laws she violated are intended more for those that would view her photos, and not for her. The girl possessing pornographic images of her own body is not same as a 45-year-old man in possession of the very same shots.

The laws need to change to reflect changing times. No one writing child-pornography laws could have forseen the immense power and potential for abuse that the Internet provides. It’s up for debate if teens today are more sexually active than they were in generations past, but, without a doubt, there are more venues for them to be visibly sexual. As such, new legislation should be enacted to separate children like her from their abusers.

This is, of course, a very sad case for the girl. Not only is she in trouble with the law at a young age, but she also has the added stigma of being charged with one of society’s most despicable crimes, when clearly it’s guidance she needs.

A reasonable first reaction is to wonder where her parents were, but on second look, it makes less sense. Before the Internet, a simple, “No boys upstairs” rule could be enforced in the home and could prevent too much hanky-panky. Now, with staggering technology available to just about anyone, it’s harder for parents to keep such a leash on kids, especially older kids raised on the Internet.

Clearly, the teen needs to have some sanctions imposed against her — just not the same ones as the creeps who are benefiting from her actions.