Two teenage boys aged 15 and 16 years old from WA who have pleaded guilty to the rape of a 14 year old girl has again highlighted the growing legal implications of sexting.

Sexting is becoming increasingly popular among teenagers despite the fact that cases are now appearing where teenagers are being charged for capturing pornographic images on their mobile phones and distributing them.

It is bad enough that these teenage boys sexually assaulted a 14 year old girl, but to film the event and then share it with their friends, shows no understanding of the fact that they are breaking the law and risking social rejection.

In November Damien “Ezzy” Eades was the first person to be tried in a sexting case in Australia. From western Sydney, Eades allegedly encouraged a 13 year old girl to send him nude photos of herself to his mobile phone. If convicted he faces up to 2 years in jail.

Yet another young man from Mackay was spared prosecution for possessing a photo of a topless 15-year-old girl on his phone.

Police have again warned of the seriousness with which sexting is being taken by law enforcement officers, especially when underage children are involved.

Dr. Michael Carr-Gregg adolescent psychologist and Generation Next speaker said sexting had become socially accepted by Australian teens, with many unaware of the consequences.

“There are severe psychological consequences. I have seen kids who have self harmed, developed depression and anxiety disorders as a result of being a victim of this type of bullying. Kids can actually end up on the sex offenders register…. this has major implications for getting employment in the future and getting a visa to go to places like the United States”.

Experts say few teens appear to grasp that they can be charged under tough laws created for paedophiles – or branded as registered child sex offenders – just for sending or even possessing naked images of themselves or other under-age teens.

Cyber safety expert and Generation Next speaker, Susan McLean believes that the enslaught of naked photos and videos associated with celebrities may be partly to blame.

“You can Google almost any celebrity these days and find a link to a sex tape, and there is pressure on girls to confirm. They are certainly not mimicking the behaviour of teachers and parents.”

She said songs like Ke$ha’s Dirty Picture, in which the pop star implores her lover to “take a dirty picture for me” may also add to the normalisation of nude photography among gullible young people.

“The number one reason girls give for sending these pictures was to be fun or flirtatious. I don’t think people have appreciated how these [celebrity] images have built up over time,” said McLean.

A recent government campaign on YouTube urged teens to Think before sexting. It told the story of Megan, who sent images to her boyfriend, which were then passed around her classroom.

Home Affairs Minister Brendan O’Connor said “We want to make sure that it’s distributed as far and wide as possible, schools and others will be encouraged to use this video”.

 “I’ve heard anecdotally from organisations that work in Victorian schools that around 80% of year 10s have sent or received such images,” said McLean.

“Even those that have studied adolescent behaviour can’t tell us why they can make poor decisions. It seems like they just don’t think ahead,” she said.

Bruce Arnold a law lecturer at the University of Canberra, said “It also seems to be clear that people are often naïve about what they do with the stills or video, and some law students are utterly amazed to hear that employers might be looking at embarrassing snaps on blogs or other internet sites in a few years time and making fundamental employment decisions on the basis of what they see.”

Writer Helen Splarn. Editor Dr Ramesh Manocha
Source: WA Today. Sydney Morning Herald