Sexting Laws by State 2024

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If you take or share or threaten to take or share a nude or sexy pic without someone’s consent, the maximum penalty is 3 years jail. Established in 1988, the Baldani Law Group has successfully represented thousands of individuals across the Commonwealth of Kentucky. With over 100 years of combined experience, let our team of attorneys fight for your rights.

State-By-State Differences In Sexting Laws Federal Penalties

Sexting laws furnish legal penalties for “sexting.” Sexing is the sending of illicit pictures or messages of a sexual nature between electronic devices. Instead, anyone in possession of child pornography is liable for prosecution even if they were unaware they were sexting with a minor. What would be wrong with trading a few sexy photos with your significant other? Generally speaking, private sharing of nude or suggestive photos between consenting adults is not, in fact, illegal.

North Carolina sexting laws and soliciting a minor by computer

Average experience reflects the average number of years that the attorneys at this firm have been licensed to practice law. The experience is based on data from the respective state bar association, where this information is available. Find out that your teens are aware of the potential implications and make it clear that your top goal as a parent is to keep them safe. Despite efforts at education and warning, sexting is regrettably still a common occurrence.

• Federal law also makes it a crime for someone to cause a minor to take part in sexually explicit conduct in order to portray that conduct.
• We are committed to providing you with reliable legal information in a way that is easy to understand.
• However, this will run certain risks because if you are not aware of any available defences or mitigating factors, you may be convicted or sentenced unfairly.
• The current system represents a fundamental injustice against teens, which only serves to overload sex offender registries and potentially disserve true victims of child pornography.
• If this occurs, you can report it to the FTC and talk to an attorney so you understand your Cyber Rights.

Consequently, the statute applies to live sexual performances by a child, photographs, photoshop, deep fakes, videos or computer-generated images, and video games. (3) Altered media or media manipulated to depict a minor engaged in sexual conduct. As of January 1, 2018, sexting by juveniles (those younger than 18) can be handled by a civil citation or as a petty offense or misdemeanor. Before the new law was enacted, prosecutors had only felony tools at their disposal. Anyone who sends, receives or asks for a naked or sexual image of a person who is or appears to be under the age of 18 is at risk of committing a crime and of being charged. If the offender is under 18, the court has three options under the new law.

The penalty increases to a class 3 misdemeanor if the juvenile sent the image to multiple individuals. “Sexting” is the sending of nude or sexually suggestive images electronically, whether through text messaging, social media, chat boards, or email. Sexting has become especially common among teenagers—many of whom are minors—and can easily be used to bully or harass. Even when sexual content has been consensually exchanged, recipients can face legal ramifications if the content received is in turn distributed to third parties. Often referred to as revenge porn, this scenario takes place when photos or videos are shared with other parties without the explicit consent of the creator.

As sexting becomes more common, an increasing number of states—including Colorado—have adopted laws that address sexually explicit electronic messages in which minors are senders or recipients. In this post, the Denver criminal defense attorneys at Wolf Law take a closer look at Colorado’s sexting law and how it relates to other sex crime charges. Similarly, any one person who coerces, entices, induces, or otherwise allows a minor to create, possess, or share child sexual abusive materials or engage in a sexually abusive activity, like sexting, may face felony charges. That means you could face criminal charges for asking for, receiving, or sharing nude photos or videos of your 17-year-old (or younger) partner via phone or any electronic means. With that being said, eventhough there are not specific sexting laws in Michigan, the act may lead to criminal charges under the child pornography law, especially if minors are involved.