SEXTING SHOCK

Maryland Court of Appeals Upholds Child Porn Charge Against Teen Who Texted Video to Friends

The then-16-year-old shared a video of herself performing a consensual sex act in 2016.

The Maryland Court of Appeals upheld a child pornography charge against a minor who willingly texted a graphic video of herself to other minors, The Washington Post reports. On Wednesday, the high court ruled the then-16-year-old girl could be charged as her own pornographer—even if the sex act was consensual and the porn was self-produced. The girl shared a video of herself performing a sex act on an unidentified male to a 16-year-old girl and a 17-year-old boy in October 2016. Later, the teens who received the video shared it with their school resource officer, resulting in child pornography charges against the girl who distributed the video.

The court suggested on Wednesday that the Maryland General Assembly should consider changing the child porn law, noting that there could be “compelling policy reasons for treating teenage sexting different from child pornography.” The girl's lawyer appealed the decision after the teen was put on probation in May 2017. She won't have to register as a sex offender.