In ‘sexting’ case Manassas City police want to photograph teen in sexually explicit manner, lawyers sayI have gotten into arguments over the use of search warrants to obtain blood for DWI investigations and they are legitimate in my mind because they are demanding something in your body, based on probable cause. This is forcing a substance into a boy's body (the side effects of which are unknown), producing an erection and taking photo's. For the case of a high school boyfriend/girlfriend. Maybe if the parents would spend more time raising their kids (like telling the girl she really doesn't need to show herself on the video, because it can go on the Internet).
A Manassas City teenager accused of “sexting” a video to his girlfriend is now facing a search warrant in which Manassas City police and Prince William County prosecutors want to take a photo of his erect penis, possibly forcing the teen to become erect by taking him to a hospital and giving him an injection, the teen’s lawyers said. A Prince William County judge allowed the 17-year-old to leave the area without the warrant being served or the pictures being taken — yet.
The teen is facing two felony charges, for possession of child pornography and manufacturing child pornography, which could lead not only to incarceration until he’s 21, but inclusion on the state sex offender data base for, possibly, the rest of his life. David Culver of NBC Washington first reported the story and interviewed the teen’s guardian, his aunt, who was shocked at the lengths Prince William authorities were willing to go to make a sexting case in juvenile court....
...(Defense attorney Jessica Harbeson)Foster said the case began when the teen’s 15-year-old girlfriend sent photos of herself to the 17-year-old, who in turn sent her the video in question. The girl has not been charged, and her mother filed a complaint about the boy’s video, Foster said. The male teen was served with petitions from juvenile court in early February, and not arrested, but when the case went to trial in juvenile court in June, Foster said prosecutors forgot to certify that the teen was a juvenile. The case was dismissed, but police immediately obtained new charges and also a search warrant for his home. Police also arrested the teen and took him to juvenile jail, where Foster said they took photos of the teen’s genitals against his will.
The case was set for trial on July 1, where Foster said Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Claiborne Richardson told her that her client must either plead guilty or police would obtain another search warrant “for pictures of his erect penis,” for comparison to the evidence from the teen’s cell phone. Foster asked how that would be accomplished and was told that “we just take him down to the hospital, give him a shot and then take the pictures that we need.”
The teen declined to plead guilty. Foster said the prosecutor then requested a continuance so police could get a search warrant, which was granted by substitute Juvenile Court Judge Jan Roltsch-Anoll. Two days later, both sides were back in court. Foster had filed a motion to allow her client to travel out of state to visit family. Richardson wanted the teen to comply with the search warrant before he left. Juvenile Court Judge Lisa Baird declined to order that, and allowed the teen to leave the area. But he has another court date on July 15.
Despite the request by the prosecutor in court, Prince William County Commonwealth’s Attorney Paul B. Ebert said that police told him “these allegations [by the lawyers] lack credibility.” He said he would look into the matter further.
Carlos Flores Laboy, appointed the teen’s guardian ad litem in the case, said he thought it was just as illegal for the Manassas City police to create their own child pornography as to investigate the teen for it. “They’re using a statute that was designed to protect children from being exploited in a sexual manner,” Flores Laboy said, “to take a picture of this young man in a sexually explicit manner. The irony is incredible.” The guardian added, “As a parent myself, I was floored. It’s child abuse. We’re wasting thousands of dollars and resources and man hours on a sexting case. That’s what we’re doing.”
Foster said Detective Abbott told her that after obtaining photos of the teen’s erect penis he would “use special software to compare pictures of this penis to this penis. Who does this? It’s just crazy.”
Good news. The warrant was not enforced. Some sanity came through. But IMHO, the judge needs to get head out of her ass. She had no business signing that paper.
Thank you Darren at RotLC for the link.
PS: Rush Limbaugh said it best, demonstrate absurdity by being absurd. Maybe they can make the ID like this.
Did he deny it was him in the video?
ReplyDeleteWhy is only the boy being gone after?
They're both kids, it's not like one is an adult and one not.
Yes, sexting is out of hand, but this is even more so.
In Texas the legal age of consent is 17, but there is an excepion to prosecution if the kids are within three years of age (e.g a 15 year old and 14 year old). But injecting a substance to induce an erection is almost NAZI like. And again, mom, maybe yoiu teach your kd to not show themselvdes on a digital camera.
Delete