A twelve-year-old girl in Westport, CT, which is one of the richest towns in the country, was busted for possession of child pornography. Well, not specifically for child pornography... but technically, the photo of her classmate she had been sending around is illegal child porn, but that's not what the cops nabbed her for...
The investigation began on May 12 when the incident was reported to Westport police after word circulated throughout Coleytown Middle School that a nude snapshot was taken during a video chat and distributed to others.
The authorities, as usual, are skirting the First Amendment by charging her under "disturbing the peace," must as they used the same argument for busting vagrants in the Olden Days. We have a feeling that this is not going to last as a criminal case (if this is a rich family, as we can suspect, given her location, they may get a decent attorney who can get the case thrown out, no?), though, if it's the pictured student who helped launch the investigation, this may turn into an ugly civil suit.
Although, of course, we're pretty sure whoever had their picture taken either a) consented to it or b) may actually not have cared and that it was parents who alerted the police without his/her agreeing to it or c) didn't consent to have his/her image saved and is learning a valuable lesson about internet privacy, end of story.
The girl is being referred to Juvenile Court in Norwalk on a charge of second-degree breach of peace, which involves the distribution of offensive and indecent material.
“In light of how sensitive this case is for all the families involved, I don’t feel it’s appropriate to comment at this time,” said Mark Sherman, an attorney for the girl.
The arrest comes amid growing worries among parents about teenagers snapping naked pictures of themselves on their cell phones and sending them to their boyfriends and girlfriends. Many of the pictures are falling into the wrong hands or being posted on the Internet, leading to criminal charges.
Via The Norwich Bulletin.