It’s not uncommon for adults to send each other steamy messages, especially if they’re in a committed relationship. Most people don’t think twice about doing this, but they may not realize that seemingly innocent sexts can sometimes be a criminal offense.
In most cases, sexting happens on a private device through text messages, video chats, direct messages or other electronic methods. There are two key factors in determining if sexts are legal or illegal – age and consent.
Age of the sender, recipient or subject
One of the most serious legal concerns occurs when there’s a minor involved in any facet of sexting. Even if a minor consents or everyone involved is a minor, it’s still against the law to send or receive sexually explicit images or videos involving them. These laws mean that even if teens are in a relationship and sharing pictures of themselves with each other, these actions are illegal.
Consent from all involved parties
Sexting is also a criminal matter if all involved parties don’t consent. This could be that one party asks the other to stop sending these types of images. It also applies to cases of revenge porn when the subject of a sexually explicit picture or video doesn’t consent to it being shared with anyone, but another shares them anyway.
Charges related to sexting should be taken seriously. They can range from child pornography to cyber harassment, stalking or harassment. Anyone facing these types of accusations should ensure they learn their options for a defense strategy so they can build a strong case to fight the charges at issue.