Excellent news. Teaching children about technology and what to do when they cross the line of its appropriate use -- and education around when it's okay to be naked -- is absolutely the responsibility of parents. Law enforcement -- if it will maintain citizens' respect and cooperation -- must be based upon the intent of the action and state of mind of the accused. Children who send nude photos of themselves to peers are playing, not exploiting themselves.
We have a judiciary, established in our Constitution. Diminishing the power of those wise men and women to provide justice is tearing chunks out of our republic.
Court Says Parents Can Block ‘Sexting’ Cases - NYTimes.comIn the first federal appeals court opinion dealing with “sexting” — the transmission of sexually explicit photographs by cellphone — a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled Wednesday that parents could block the prosecution of their children on child pornography charges for appearing in photographs found on some classmates’ cellphones.
“It does not resolve all of the constitutional issues implicated in sexting prosecutions, but it’s a terrific start for civil liberties,” said Witold Walczak, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, who represented the parents.