Jim Liebelt Christian Blog and Commentary

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Vermont Teen Going to the Slammer for 'Sexting'

I've created numerous posts on "sexting" in the past year. Here's a news excerpt about a young man who will do jail time in Vermont's first sexting case. What's particularly interesting to me about this news item is that Vermont lawmakers decriminalized sexting earlier in the year, and the 18-year-old was convicted and sentenced on other charges. The bottom line is that sexting, even in states that have changed their laws to decriminalize the behavior, is still a wicked bad idea.

18-year-old Isaac Owusu will serve 90 days of a two-year sentence in a Vermont prison after pleading guilty to two counts of committing a prohibited act and one count of lewd and lascivious conduct this past Thursday in what was the state's first sexting case. It could've been worse for the teen from Morrisville, who told two teenage girls to send him videos or photos of them performing sexual acts. However, Vermont lawmakers recently decriminalized sexting, which led to sexual assault charges against Owusu being dropped as part of a plea deal.

Source: Switched
http://www.switched.com/2009/09/04/vermont-teen-going-to-the-slammer-for-sexting/

For more information on keeping your kids safe from sexting, see my article "Sexting: A Parent's Guide to Keeping Your Kids Safe."