Sexting bill still  a need in Ohio

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12:47 PM Wednesday, March 2, 2011

It’s been nearly two years since the then-prosecutors of Butler and Warren counties were publicly warning parents of the perils associated with teenagers “sexting” each other. Both were calling for changes in Ohio law to recognize the new (at the time) phenomenon.

Well, those former prosecutors, Robin Piper of Butler County and Rachel Hutzel of Warren County, are now judges on the 12th District Court of Appeals, and Ohio still has done nothing to change laws that allow teens to be charged with felonies and labeled as sex offenders because they swapped naughty (and imprudent) photos with their camera-equipped cell phones.

You see, Ohio law currently offers little distinction between an adult child-pornographer and minors experimenting with their iPhones and sending — via e-mail or text-messaging — indecent images to a boyfriend or girlfriend.

Southwest Ohio saw its fair share of cases a couple of years ago, prompting proposed legislation in Columbus and warnings from the likes of Piper and Hutzel. But in those two years, there’s been little action on the measure at the Statehouse, so state Rep. Ron Maag, R-Lebanon, recently reintroduced legislation that would make the offense by minors a first-degree misdemeanor, with a penalty of no more than six months in prison and a fine of more than $1,000.

Maag says a felony charge would not be ruled out under the new bill in cases where malicious intent is clear.

“While most of these cases are not worthy of labeling a child as a sex offender for life, a misdemeanor charge will still be enough to let young kids know this behavior is not appropriate,” Maag says. That’s an important point. While other states, like South Carolina and Texas, are considering similar legislation, the emphasis in those states seems to be on banning the practice — with age-appropriate punishment as the penalty. Ohio lawmakers should also emphasize that, while they are modifying laws to acknowledge new technology and the age of those abusing it, sexting itself remains a crime when it involves images of underage boys and girls.

But before that can happen, Ohio lawmakers actually need to get a law in place, like the one introduced by Maag. In this technology-driven era, two years is an eternity. Warren County Juvenile Court Judge Mike Powell said state legislation addressing “sexting” has been “a long time coming.”

Laws should be reviewed and updated on a regular basis — so that they are keeping up with high-tech advances. We hope that legislators can get a “sexting” law in place before the “next big thing” arrives and takes its place.

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