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Sexting
Is sexting illegal?
What are the consequences?
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What is sexting?
Sexting is the act of sending sexually explicit messages or photographs, primarily between cell phones.
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Is sexting illegal?
In short, yes. A bill was signed into law by the Governor on May 7th, 2010 that makes it a misdemeanor for a juvenile to use a computer or cell phone to send or posses "explicit sexual material" from another juvenile in the form of a photo or video. Arizona is the seventh state to make sexting a juvenile misdemeanor offense.
Arizona Revised Statutes (A.R.S.) §13-3553 states that a person commits sexual exploitation of a minor by knowingly:
· Recording, filming, photographing, developing or duplicating any visual depiction in which a minor is engaged in exploitive exhibition or other sexual conduct.
· Distributing, transporting, exhibiting, receiving, selling, purchasing, electronically transmitting, possessing or exchanging any visual depiction in which a minor is engaged in exploitive exhibition or other sexual conduct.
Sexual exploitation of a minor is a Class 2 felony and punishable with a presumptive five year term of incarceration. Pursuant to A.R.S. §13-705, however, sexual exploitation of a minor under 15 years of age is classified as a dangerous crime against children, and punishable with a presumptive 17 year term of incarceration. The maximum term of imprisonment for a class 2 misdemeanor is four months.
A.R.S. §13-3560 defines electronic communication device as any electronic device that is capable of transmitting visual depictions and includes computers and cell phones.
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What are the consequences?
Along with the possibility of your peers, family and teachers finding out about your sexts the law states that the punishment for sexting is as follows:
· Creates a petty offense for a juvenile who intentionally or knowingly uses an electronic communication device to transmit a sexually explicit depiction of a minor to one other person.
· Creates a Class 3 misdemeanor for a juvenile who intentionally or knowingly uses an electronic communication device to transmit a sexually explicit depiction of a minor to more than one other person.
· Creates a petty offense for a juvenile who intentionally or knowingly possesses a sexually explicit depiction of a minor that was transmitted to the juvenile through the use of an electronic communication device.
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