A 14-year-old girl from Minnesota in the United States is facing child pornography charges for sending an explicit selfie to her classmate through the Snapchat app.
The teenager, who has not been identified by name and designated a Jane Doe, sent the selfie to the boy from her class whom she liked through the social media app, and he shared it with his friends without her permission. This apparently led to the violation of Minnesota's pornography law.
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According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the girl has been charged by authorities in Minnesota with distributing child pornography.
"I'm not a criminal for taking a selfie. Sexting is common among teens at my school, and we shouldn't face charges for doing it," she said in a statement. "I don't want anyone else to go through what I'm going through."
Teresa Nelson, Legal Director of the ACLU-Minnesota, said in a statement: "To suggest that a juvenile who sends a sexually explicit selfie is a victim of her own act of child pornography is illogical. Child pornography laws are supposed to protect minors from predators, and Jane Doe is not a predator."
The teenager's father called out the state for "victimising the victim," stating: "What my daughter went through at school with the other students was really rough. And, when we found out she was also facing criminal charges my first thought was, 'Why are we victimizing the victim?' "
If convicted, the 14-year-old could be forced to register as a predatory sex offender for the next 10 years, noted ACLU.
