Henrico won’t charge middle schoolers in ‘sexting’ case

Henrico County's chief prosecutor says he does not intend to bring child pornography charges against middle school children for texting nude pictures of themselves on their cell phones.

But Commonwealth's Attorney Wade Kizer said he still hasn't decided how Henrico authorities should handle such "sexting" incidents, which aren't really covered by law. His office and county police are still reviewing several cases involving students at Moody Middle School.

Kizer said he doesn't believe the state's law dealing with possession of child pornography "was ever intended by the General Assembly to be used [against] adolescents who have no idea what child pornography is."

However, Kizer said he's mindful of the problems that can arise when juveniles send nude or semi-nude photos of themselves and others. Such behavior can cause embarrassment and be disruptive to the schools.

Kizer said he's unaware of any existing law that would address that type of activity.

"To try to make the possession of child pornography law fit it, I think is the wrong thing to do," he said. "I think that the child pornography statutes were intended to address child sexual predators."

The issue of sexting recently garnered public attention in the Richmond area when Henrico authorities disclosed that school officials at Moody Middle found naked photos of students on three jump drives -- portable memory devices that can be used with cell phones and laptops.

Police indicated two weeks ago that they had broadened their investigation to include other county schools, but police said yesterday that only one additional incident had been investigated at Brookland Middle School.

That involved an image on a student's cell phone that was intercepted by the child's parents and reported to police, said Lt. Doug Perry, a police spokesman. Perry said no charges were brought after investigators consulted with the commonwealth's attorney's office.

Hanover County authorities investigated a case in which a teenage girl sent nude or semi-nude images of herself to others, and those who received them forwarded the photos to friends, Hanover sheriff's Capt. Michael Trice said.

The case was sent to the Hanover commonwealth's attorney's office, but prosecutors decided there was insufficient evidence to bring charges, Trice said.

Fewer than 10 sexting cases have come to the attention of Chesterfield County authorities, and nearly all have involved teenage girls taking photos of themselves partially naked and sending them to boyfriends or other acquaintances. No one has been charged.

Chesterfield prosecutors have said they are reluctant to prosecute young people for sending such material when there is no criminal intent.

Henrico's Kizer said a "worst-case scenario" could arise that would warrant charges in such a case, but "I can't think of such a situation right now."

"I think when a 12or 13-year-old uses technology that didn't exist 20 years ago and takes a picture of themselves without thinking about the consequences, and gives it to their friend -- not expecting that it's going to get republished one time or 100 times -- I really don't think that's what the child pornography statute was intended for," Kizer said.

Contact Mark Bowes at (804) 649-6450 or .