By Calvin Palmer
A federal judge yesterday temporarily blocked a prosecutor from filing child pornography charges against three northeastern Pennsylvania teenagers accused of “sexting” scantily clad and topless pictures of themselves.
U.S. District Judge James Munley ruled against Wyoming County District Attorney George Skumanick Jr, who has threatened to pursue felony charges against the girls unless they agree to participate in a five-week after-school program.
One picture showed two the girls in their bras. A second photo showed another girl topless after stepping out of the shower.
The girls’ case was taken up by the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania.
Legal director Witold Walczack said in a statement: “We are grateful the judge recognized that prosecuting our clients for non-sexually explicit photographs raises serious constitutional questions.
“This country needs to have a discussion about whether prosecuting minors as child pornographers for merely being impulsive and naive is the appropriate way to address the serious consequences that can result” when teens send sexually suggestive photos of themselves and others to one another.”
Skumanick, who has said he can prosecute the teens as “accomplices” in the production of child pornography, said he would consider an appeal.
The ruling “sets a dangerous precedent by allowing people to commit crimes and then seek refuge from state arrest in the federal courts,” he said.
Au contraire, the ruling seems to me to be a mature and reasonable response to try and prevent the law from being an ass.
The photos surfaced in October, when officials at Tunkhannock Area High School confiscated five cell phones and found that boys had been trading photos of scantily clad, semi-nude or nude teenage girls. The students with the cell phones ranged in age from 11 to 17.
Skumanick met with about 20 students and their parents last month and offered them a deal in which they would not be prosecution if they took a class on sexual harassment, sexual violence and gender roles.
Three students refused and sued Skumanick last week.
The suit, filed by the ACLU, said the teens did not consent to having the picture distributed and that the images are not pornographic.
The ACLU said Skumanick’s threat to prosecute is “retaliation” for the students’ refusal to participate in the class.
Munley wrote: “The girls make a reasonable argument that the images presented to the court do not appear to qualify in any way as depictions of prohibited sexual acts. Even if they were such depictions, the plaintiffs’ argument that they were not involved in disseminating the images is also a reasonable one.”
Under Pennsylvania’s child pornography law, the possession or dissemination of photos of a minor engaged in sexual activity, “lewd exhibition of the genitals” or nudity that is meant to titillate is a felony.
The judge said he “offers no final conclusion on the merits of plaintiffs’ position” and scheduled a hearing on the case for June 2.
Needless to say Skumanick Jr is a Republican, showing once again just how hopelessly out of touch some Republicans are with life as it is lived in the 21st Century.
Given his political affiliations, I am more than surprised that Skumanick has not brought charges of witchcraft against these girls. It would be in keeping with his outmoded and pious mindset.
There are times when the full weight of the law should be brought to bear against child pornographers. To any right-minded individual, this case is clearly not one of those occasions.
And as someone who belongs to a political party that rails against the waste of taxpayers’ money, Skumanick would do well to reflect on just how much money he is wasting on this futile endeavor.
Only someone possessed by religious or moral zeal would fail to see the crass stupidity of his actions.
I always thought district attorneys were men and women of the world rather than anally retentive martinets. I suppose Skumanick feels like he has to justify his $161,000 annual salary, especially since he is seeking re-election this year.
[Based on a report by the Associated Press.]
