The prototypical case of sexting is that of a person who sends a compromising photo to his/her partner, who forwards it in turn or distributes it when the relationship is ended and does so without the consent of the ex-partner who thus becomes a victim. From there, the spreading of sensitive photo through mobile phones and social networks is “exponential,” says Carlos Igual Garrido, captain of the Civil Guard of the section of Minors and Child Sexual Exploitation. According to a well-versed Virginia federal child pornography lawyer, you can get to know who has distributed it, but deleting the explicit photos or videos from the Internet is relatively impossible.
The sexting involves sending pictures and videos of a sexual nature produced by the sender himself (or with their consent) via mobile phone or other technological devices. In the Commonwealth of Virginia, the laws against child pornography are quite severe. In fact, Virginia’s laws against child pornography’s possession and dissemination involve creating, possessing, distributing, and resending sexually explicit or erotic photos or videos of juveniles (individuals under the age of eighteen) via text messages. Additionally, the law has no distinction between adults, says a reliable Virginia federal child pornography lawyer.
The problem comes when the explicit content is made public, something that the victim cannot control once he/she has decided to send them for the first time even to a trustworthy person. At that time, the victim completely loses control over that material.
Disseminating such sexual images without the consent of the person who appears in them is a crime, which punishable with imprisonment and heavy fines or both. If in the photograph or the video minors also appear, it can be considered creation and distribution of child pornography, says an aggressive Virginia federal child pornography lawyer.
If the person who distributes these contents is between 14 and 17 years old, the individual can also be punished. Under 13 years may not be attributed, but their parents or guardians can be forced to compensate the victim.
The Internet can provide users with false feelings of both anonymity and impunity. These feelings often lead people to use different forms of actions that in real life – outside the virtual world – they might not adopt. The behaviors are trivialized and they do not realize that it is a crime. These sensations are more intense in adolescents than adults due to impulsivity, lack of experience and reflection of age.
‘CYBERBULLYING’ AND ‘SEXTORSSION’, RISKS OF ‘SEXTING’
According to an experienced Virginia federal child pornography lawyer, the criminal consequences for those who disseminate images of third parties, adolescents face other risks as well, such as cyberbullying or sextorssion, if they practice sexting and send their intimate images to other people. The photos or videos can be used by other minors to harass and humiliate their victim, which is known as cyberbullying. You can no longer distinguish between bullying and cyberbullying.
But not only those who practice sexting are at risk, the person who receives these files and forwards them commits a crime and can be punished, even if it is minor. Thus, the simple act of retweeting is a crime. If the file contains images of minors, you are distributing child pornography, says a Virginia federal child pornography lawyer.