Sexting and the Law – Where Your First Amendment Rights End
“Sexting” is the practice of sending erotic messages and/or images that, while practiced by some adults, is becoming more and more commonplace amongst children. In the United States, it is against the law to possess sexually explicit photographs of minors. In South Carolina, misdemeanor to felony charges can result, depending on the age of the defendant.
Because sexting is considered free speech, adults engaging in the act are protected from state intervention under the First Amendment. However, the Supreme Court placed child pornography out of the scope of the First Amendment; thus criminal charges and harsh punishments are quick to follow. Some charges that can result from sexting include:
- Internet sex crimes
- Distribution (the sender) and possession (the receiver) of child pornography
- Communicating with a minor with the intent of a lewd act
- Sending harmful matter with the intent of seduction
Sexting is not currently a separate criminal category in South Carolina, so carries the same penalties as other Class E felony sex offender crimes, including bearing the label of a sex offender for the rest of your life, even if you are only a teen communicating with another teen.
To learn more about sexting and the law in South Carolina, please contact the Druanne White Law Firm in South Carolina today to schedule your first consultation with an experienced sexual assault attorney.
This entry was posted on Thursday, January 12th, 2012 at 4:20 pm and is filed under Sexting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
