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Teens Face Child Porn Charges in Cyberbullying Case

Pinkie-Dawn

Pinkie-Dawn

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HALIFAX, Nova Scotia — Two Canadian teenagers appeared in youth court Thursday on child pornography charges related to a deadly cyberbullying case, which is set to continue next month as the defense seeks additional disclosure of evidence.
Rehtaeh Parsons was taken off life support after an April suicide attempt that her family says was prompted by months of bullying. They say the 17-year-old was tormented after a digital photograph of her allegedly being sexually assaulted was distributed around her school.
One 18-year-old man faces two counts of distributing child pornography, while another 18-year-old man is charged with distributing and making child pornography. The next court action is set for Sept. 19.
Police announced the arrests in the high-profile case last week. The teens' names cannot be released because they were under 18 at the time of the alleged offenses.
Neither man showed any emotion during the court appearance.
The two were charged after police reopened their investigation a week after the girl's death. Police said they had received new and credible information from someone who was willing to cooperate with their investigation.
Police have said there were no plans to lay charges in connection with the alleged sexual assault. They concluded there weren't enough grounds to lay charges.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said he hoped Parsons' family would be given a degree of comfort by the arrests.
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http://news.msn.com/crime-justice/teens-face-child-porn-charges-in-cyberbullying-case

What caught my eye about this tragic news is the age of these teens. The two Canadian teens are 18 years old, while their victim, Rehtaeh Parsons, was only a year younger than them, and yet both were charged of showing child porn of her online. Has the age limit gone too far with these charges?
 

Silais

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I'm not sure what the age of consent is for sexual activity in Canada, but I'm guessing it's 18 if they charged the teens with child pornography. I believe the age of consent should be 17, but that's just me. I do think that it's gone a bit far in terms of charging them with child pornography, but I'm glad they were charged with SOMETHING. The fact that these boys leaked a picture of the girl being sexually assaulted is obviously an inhumane, cruel thing to do and they should receive ample prison sentences for their crimes.
 

Slayer1986

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Well, this case wouldn't have blown up if that 17 year old girl hadn't died. And since the "crimes" were committed before the two accused were 18, you don't really have a game. These two 18 year olds are not pedophiles, they were just being @ssholes. I would rather charge them for sexual assualt as the quote up there suggests.
 
Amore

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Yeah I don't think it detracts from how awful what they're alleged to have done if we say that really, for such a small age difference, child pornography charges are a bit extreme.
 
Esper

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It sounds like these two were involved in the original assault and that the police are using laws against child pornography to get them anyway. If these two were involved, that is, the police know they were but don't have enough legal grounds to convict them for it, then I'm okay with what they're doing now. Even if they weren't involved originally and were "only" distributing the photo, then they still deserve harsh punishments because that's a damn awful thing to do.
 
Star-Lord

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Um, no, child pornography charges are not extreme. A 17 year old is under the age of majority and therefor any pornographic situations involved will be underage. They distributed and produced child pornography. It's not a question.

And it's not extreme either because there's a legal precedent already set up for this sort of thing. The charges are just, legally speaking.
 
Mana1

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I'm glad they're doing something. It mentions that one is being convicted of "making and distributing" the photos. Which implies he played a part in the supposed sexual assault. I'd imagine, since the poor girl is dead, there is no witness to convict him for it.

Also, just to point out, it is technically illegal for ANYONE to take/send inappropriate photos of a minor. It is illegal for a 17 year old boy to send naked photos of himself to his girlfriend. It's unlikely to be followed up though, assuming both are consenting and nobody goes to the police.
 

Sir Codin

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Silais said:
I'm not sure what the age of consent is for sexual activity in Canada, but I'm guessing it's 18 if they charged the teens with child pornography. I believe the age of consent should be 17, but that's just me. I do think that it's gone a bit far in terms of charging them with child pornography, but I'm glad they were charged with SOMETHING. The fact that these boys leaked a picture of the girl being sexually assaulted is obviously an inhumane, cruel thing to do and they should receive ample prison sentences for their crimes.
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According to my research Canada's age of consent is 16 (which is what I personally believe the age of consent should be), but the pornography laws state that anyone under 18 is a minor and taking sexually incriminating photos or video of a minor, even one who is 17, is considered making CP. Doesn't make much sense, but it's how society rolls. Given what these two did, I'm going to say these charges are justified.
 
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gimmepie

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In this case I see nothing wrong with the charges. The girl was sexually assaulted and the images made without her knowledge, certainly not her consent. The charges for the assault (if these two were involved) should be first and foremost of course - but I think the child porn charges should also stick.

That being said, I also think the laws are to strict. I fail to understand why a sixteen-year-old (here) is legally able to consent to sexual intercourse but not to be depicted naked in a picture. It seems just a little mismatched.
 
Trev

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If she's a minor, it's child porn. Simple as that. The charges were completely justified. I wish they had gotten punished for being sick bastards, but if there are no grounds, then what can you do?
 
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