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Teen ‘sexting’ not a crime under House bill
By MARC KOVAC
COLUMBUS
Teens who use electronic devices to send pictures of themselves or other teens naked would not face criminal charges, under legislation approved Wednesday by the Ohio House.
House Bill 473, sponsored by Rep. Connie Pillich, a Democrat from the Cincinnati area, would prohibit the so-called sexting activities but would institute delinquency charges instead of more serious penalties, including future sexually oriented- offender registrations.
“This relatively new behavior with relatively new technology is not adequately addressed by current law,” Pillich said.
She added, “This is a growing problem that must be addressed in the most responsible, effective way. Is this behavior bad? Yes. Does it warrant a life sentence as a sex offender? No.”
HB 473 passed on a vote of 86-12 and heads to the Ohio Senate for further consideration.
Under the legislation, individuals younger than 18 caught sending photos of themselves in the nude would face delinquency charges, and those sending photos of others would face misdemeanor charges. But they would not be labeled sex offenders.
The issue has gained national attention after incidents in multiple states in which teens have faced child-pornography charges for sending nude or scantily clad images to other teens, via cell phones and computers.
And a teen in Pillich’s home district committed suicide after a nude photo of her was widely distributed to other students.