14 year old girl gets charged for child pornography

CLIFTON — A 14-year-old girl faces child pornography charges after she allegedly posted nearly 30 nude pictures of herself on a social networking site, authorities said.

Detectives with the Passaic County Sheriff’s Department’s Internet Crimes Unit arrested the teen Tuesday. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children contacted sheriff’s detectives about someone posting photos of an underage nude girl on a MySpace profile. The center, which monitors social networking sites for illegal images of children, contacted county detectives through the State Police’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, said Bill Maer, the sheriff’s department spokesman.

Following a month-long investigation, detectives discovered that the person posting the pictures was the same person featured in them — the 14-year-old girl. Anyone who was “friends” with the girl through MySpace or knew her full name could have accessed the photos.

The teen was charged with one count of possession of child pornography and one count of distribution of child pornography. She was released into her mother’s custody, Maer said.

The teen reportedly told police she posted the pictures into a photo album for her boyfriend’s enjoyment. More arrests may be forthcoming, Maer said.

Maer said that North Jersey parents should make sure they are aware of their children’s activities on the Internet.

— Jennifer H. Cunningham



Isn't this ridiculous?

The 14-year-old Clifton girl who posted nude pictures of herself on MySpace — and was charged with distribution of child pornography — needs help, not legal trouble, Maureen Kanka said today.

By filing charges against the girl, who has not been identified because of her age, prosecutors were doing more to harm children than to help them, Kanka said.

Kanka’s 7-year-old was killed by convicted sex offender in 1994. Her death inspired Megan’s Law, which requires the registration of sex offenders.

“This shouldn’t fall under Megan’s Law in any way, shape or form,” Kanka said. The teen should have counseling and intervention because “the only person she exploited was herself.”

The teens are making poor choices by posting nude images but aren’t pedophiles, Kanka said.

“Megan’s Law … It’s for sex offenders,” she said. “These kids aren’t sex offenders.”

Using “heavy artillery” like child pornography charges, which can have lifelong consequences is uncalled for, said Deborah Jacobs, executive director of the New Jersey ACLU.

“Who does it protect?” Jacobs asked.

If convicted, the Clifton teen would have to register as a sex offender, state Attorney General Anne Milgram said.

Milgram said it might be the first case in the state in which a youth was charged with child pornography for posting photos of themselves to a social networking site.

She cautioned parents to get on those sites and monitor what their kids are talking about and posting.

“Unfortunately, youth don’t have the same judgment as adults, and often, adults don’t have the same technical savvy as the youth,” Milgram said.

Detectives from the Passaic County Sheriff’s Department began a monthlong investigation after receiving a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about someone posting photos of an underage girl on a MySpace profile.

The teen was arrested after investigators discovered the person posting the pictures was the same person featured in them, authorities said.

The girl posted the photos because she wanted her “boyfriend to see them,” said Bill Maer, a sheriff’s spokesman.

It is not a crime to view the photos, Maer said. But it is illegal to download them.

Maer said there may be additional arrests — individuals who “knowingly” committed a crime. But they have no plans to charge people who accidentally view the photographs, such as any friends who have access to the girl’s profile.

The teen was released to her mother after her arrest, Maer said.


Staff Writer Justo Bautista contributed to this story, which contains material from The Associated Press.