Yes, Children Can Be Charged with Child Pornography

An incident from Ohio that has been making the rounds of the Internet started when a parent discovered that his 11-year-old daughter had been communicating with a predator on the internet.  She had sent the man inappropriate pictures of herself.  As part of his dealing with the issue, the parent called the police, hoping that they would be able to explain to his daughter how dangerous her actions could be. He was shocked when the police pointed out that the child could be charged with creating child pornography.  He posted the video on social media, and the predictable outrage followed.

In fact, the police officer was exactly right.  Ohio, like most states, makes it a crime to create or transmit material showing sexual activity by a minor, and it has no exception for minors who take and transmit pictures of themselves. “Sexting” is not unusual for for kids these days, and they always are surprised to discover that it's illegal.

Child welfare advocates have been fighting against the laws and subsequent prosecutions for decades, but without much success. Legislators still seem to believe that the best way to protect children from sexting is to charge them criminally. So, the police officer in Ohio may have been too quick to look at the child pornography law rather than whether the child had been victimized, but the law allows that response. Child welfare advocates will continue to contest these laws that allow for criminal charges of an 11 year old.