DISCLAIMER: I am not a mod, a lawyer or anything in between. I'm simply stating what the rule of law is & some opinions that I personally have about the situation(s). I feel like the writing is in the sand on how the mod team handles situations like this but maybe it could be addressed in a blog. This blog will revolve around the laws of consent in the USA and child pornography.
I will try to keep this semi-short and straight to the point. At the end of the day, the law is always changing so what I type today could change next year. It's important to learn about your state laws as they may and likely will be different than my state laws, but I will do my best to address the overall picture.
In the USA, you are considered a "legal" adult at the age of 18. Keep that in mind throughout this blog.
The age of consent is the age at which a person is considered to be legally competent to consent to sexual acts. The age of consent varies by state. The youngest age of consent in the USA is 16 in some states. This means that if Joe Blow wants to have sex with you and you're 16 living in one of these states, you can legally consent to the act, regardless of Joe Blow's age.
Let's talk about the law behind sexting. Sexting between two consenting ADULTS is not prohibited by law. However, sending or receiving sexually explicit content from a person under 18 years of age is unlawful and, in some instances, considered child pornography or sexual exploitation. This attracts criminal charges. This means if you are 16 and you sext or swap nudes with Joe Blow, it is ILLEGAL. If you are 16 or 17 and another party is 16 or 17 and you sext or send nudes, it is considered ILLEGAL. Regardless of age, if you are saving explicit images of minors on your phone, cloud or anywhere in between, you are legally in possession of child pornography. If you share this image with your friends, you are now distributing child pornography which is also against the law.
If you are 17 and some 18 year old is grooming you and flirting with you sexually, in some instances that is ILLEGAL. If they ask for a nude, semi nude or anything sexually suggestive, that is ILLEGAL. If they keep the nude, that is ILLEGAL.
About 25 out of the 50 United States have something enacted which basically allows two minors to "date" and engage in sexual activity. (NOTE: THIS IS NOT SEXTING)
Essentially, Romeo and Juliet laws exempts teenager and young adults who engage in sexual relations with teens under the age of consent from being classified as sex offenders. This differs throughout the states. In my state, both parties must be at least 13 years of age and can only be 3 years apart. Meaning if a 13 and a 16 year old are dating and engage in sexual activities, it is legal. Again, not every state allows this and this is used for IN PERSON SEXUAL ACTS. IF YOU ARE 13 SENDING NUDES TO A 16 YEAR OLD, IT IS ILLEGAL! IF YOU ARE 17 SENDING NUDES TO A 19 YEAR OLD, IT IS ILLEGAL! IF YOU ARE IN POSSESSION OF ANY NUDE OF SOMEONE UNDER THE AGE OF 18, IT IS CONSIDERED CHILD PORNOGRAPHY AND IS VERY ILLEGAL! DO NOT GROOM A MINOR AND DO NOT ASK A MINOR FOR NUDES! IT IS ILLEGAL!
If you are a 16 year old and your state's age of consent is 16, you are legally allowed to invite a 21 year old to sleep with you. In person. You should not be sending nudes to said person and said person should not be asking for nudes or grooming you. It's illegal. If prosecuted, they will be considered a sex offender. A lot of people on Tengaged try to interpret the law around the age of consent, but what most people fail to realize is that the legal age of consent is vastly different when it comes to engaging in sex in real life versus sending nudes online. Do not send your nudes to someone unless they explicitly state that they are of age & you are as well.
Lastly, If you are someone who was a minor and sent nudes to someone and you did NOT feel comfortable doing it, now it your time to speak up. There's a great moderation team that is on your side and will listen to your story. You don't have to make a blog, but you should let them know. Regardless of if it happened yesterday, 5 days ago or 5 years ago, please let someone know.
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