Child Threatened With Charges for Explicit Photos: Experts Criticize Law Enforcement Practices

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When a father in Ohio discovered that his 11-year-old daughter had been coerced into sending sexually explicit photos to an adult, he sought assistance from the police.

However, instead of categorizing the young girl as a victim, a police officer indicated that she could be charged under laws ostensibly meant to shield minors from such exploitation.

The unsettling exchange was captured on both body camera audio and the father’s doorbell camera last week in Columbus, Ohio. This incident has sparked public outrage and expert criticism, emphasizing the long-standing misuse of child protection laws to criminalize minors themselves.

Specialists argue that the episode highlights an absence of uniform training for law enforcement officers on handling child exploitation cases.

Scott Berkowitz, the founder and president of the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, the country’s largest anti-sexual violence organization, expressed his disbelief. “It represents a failure on both legal and ethical grounds. The immediate inclination to blame the child in such a scenario is beyond comprehension,” he said.

The father’s query on whether the police could take any action was met with a jarring response from a female officer: his daughter could face charges for creating “child pornography.” The father objected, asserting that his daughter was manipulated and is a victim. The officer’s reply was dismissive: “It doesn’t matter. She still produced it.” Frustrated, the father ended the conversation and closed the door. The video of the incident, posted on TikTok, has been viewed over 750,000 times as of last Thursday.

Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant was prompt in announcing that the officers’ actions were under review and did not align with the department’s victim treatment guidelines. Columbus police spokesperson Andrés Antequera stated that although their policies are nuanced and consider each case individually, the goal is to protect minors through educational and social services rather than criminal prosecution. Nevertheless, Antequera admitted that Ohio law explicitly states minors can violate the law by creating, possessing, or distributing sexually explicit images, even of themselves.

Legal experts lament the prevalence of such charges against victims. Rebecca Epstein, the executive director of the Center on Gender Justice and Opportunity at Georgetown Law, noted that sexual abuse survivors, particularly girls, are often criminalized instead of supported. “Our society often unfairly attributes guilt to girls who are not even of the legal age to consent,” Epstein remarked.

Over the past two decades, as the prevalence of cellphone cameras and “sexting” became more widespread, juvenile justice advocates have been combating efforts by prosecutors to charge minors for sharing explicit content consensually. Riya Saha Shah, the senior managing director of the Juvenile Law Center, asserted that using sexual exploitation laws against minors not only misinterprets the legislation but also undermines its very purpose.

Berkowitz emphasized the critical role of specialized training for law enforcement officers in interviewing and interacting with child victims of sexual crimes, a resource which appears to be in short supply.

While it is difficult to quantify the exact number of minors charged under such circumstances, experts like Shah note that the prosecutorial focus tends to be more on punishment rather than investigation or support, a trend they find both disappointing and unsurprising.

Berkowitz concluded by stating that a lack of training resources cannot justify actions that blame the victim. “The basic principle that should be upheld is that when a child is abused by an adult, all efforts should be concentrated on stopping the abuse, rather than shifting the blame onto the child,” he said.

The Associated Press has sought additional information on the training received by the responding officers and why specialized departments within the Columbus Division of Police were not engaged. Responses are still pending as of last Thursday.

This report comes from Samantha Hendrickson, a corps member for the Big Big News/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative, a non-profit organization that places journalists in local newsrooms to cover underrepresented issues.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Child Protection Laws Misuse

More about Child Protection Laws Misuse

• Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network
• Ohio State Laws on Child Exploitation
• Center on Gender Justice and Opportunity at Georgetown Law
• Juvenile Law Center
• Columbus Division of Police
• Associated Press Coverage
• Report for America