I think what officials in Passiac County New Jersey are trying to do to a fourteen-year-old-girl is criminally cruel and a monstrous misuse of the criminal justice system.
I'm speaking of the teenager who took thirty nude pictures of herself and posted them for her boyfriend to see on MySpace. (You know MySpace. It and Craigslist have sort of an informal competition going to see who can get the most publicity for maintaining a site where people can act outrageously and get national attention, thus allowing the owners of the sites to boost advertising revenue.)
The New Jersey authorities have charged this girl with posession and distribution of child pornography.
Say what?
She posted pictures of herself. She is a minor. Therefore, they argue, she is no different than any other sexual predator and should be treated the same. If found guilty, she should have to register as a sex offender.
One of the talking heads on CNN, who has five children, shrieks that, "We have to protect these kids from themselves!"
I'm not going to go on and on about this but let me just say to her and anyone else who supports this kind of prosecution; balderdash!
These are kids being kids. We give them cell phone and computer video cameras and, gosh, whaddya think? Some of them are going to act out. Surprise!! We don't put them into the system for it; we take away their toys, send them to their rooms and ground them for six months.
Megan's Law, which is what everyone is citing here, requires registration of sex offenders. This kid, and others who send each other nude pictures, are not sex offenders. They are kids who screwed up. They're still allowed to do that.
They shouldn't have to face a judge. They should have to face a very angry and embarrassed Mom and Dad.
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