What are the possible legal consequences of 'sexting'? ~ Victoria*
A naked or sexually explicit picture or video of a person under the age of 18 years is by legal definition child exploitation material and the making, transmission and possession of such images can result in serious criminal charges.
To ensure that young people under the age of 18 years who engage in consensual 'sexting' are not treated at law the same way as a child sex offender, there have been amendments to the law in Victoria to protect young people from criminal charges in certain circumstances. These are:
1. There is no threat, fear, coercion, threat to share or sharing of the image.
2. Not more than two years age difference between the teens.
3. No adult involved.
4. No other criminal act is depicted in the image.
If these four things are present, it means that police can use an educative response rather than the criminal justice system.
Once a person turns 18, the exceptions listed above no longer apply, even if the person obtained the image when they were under 18 years of age. Penalties for the making, possessing and/or transmission of child exploitation material are very serious and can result in imprisonment and registration on the sex offenders register.
There are also two other offences related to this behaviour: Distribute an Intimate Image and Threaten to Distribute an Intimate Image. These offences are applicable to everyone, not just young people. This is where an intimate image is shared or threatened to be shared without the consent of the person depicted in the image.
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The more I examine your post and responses, the more concerned I am that your post is merely for self gratification and not for any genuine purpose.
You say you were sent sexually explicit material without your consent, and deleted it.
You go on to say you took screenshots of it all. You don’t say you deleted the screenshots. Either way, the fact you took screenshots of these sexually explicit images that were sent to you doesn’t fit the narrative you’re putting forth as fact.
Why did you screenshot them? For what purpose?
Every time someone gives you cogent, reasonable responses, or points you to relevant Australian laws, you have to go back into the narrative and keep asking the same questions in different ways, and that just doesn’t ring true to me.
Also, some have suggested here that victims of child exploitation, sexting et al have culpability if the images were sent consensually. This is not true, and is part of the victim blaming ideology that permeates society and reduces sexual abuse and exploitation to consensual acts between minors. This is a slippery slope of victim blaming.
Children cannot seduce an adult, or give consent to be raped or sexually abused, and do not have affairs or sexual relationships with adults.
Likewise the parties in these kinds of circumstances as you’ve described may be consenting, but regardless of the consensual, and you say unsolicited act, there is a risk of a criminal act having been committed depending on your location and the laws of your country, and/or state or region.
Without your location, in my opinion, all of this thread is just self gratification.
*Reference:
Sexting
