Teen prankster facing child porn charges

A Victorian schoolboy who tricked his mate into sending an explicit text message has been forced to fend off child porn charges.

The high-school-aged boy had posed as a female on social media and solicited a naked image of his male friend which was then passed on to several others, the Herald Sun reports.

The boy then faced charges of procuring, possessing and transmitting child pornography and being expelled from school.

A conviction could result in the teen being put on the sex offenders register.

Victorian Legal Aid has been assisting the boy over the "misguided" prank and the matter is due to return to the Children's Court of Victoria.

The state government reportedly has vowed to introduce laws so that consensual sexting between minors is no longer illegal provided their age gap does not exceed two years.

"Child pornography laws were never designed with young people in mind and well before social media was invented," Legal Aid youth crime program manager Anoushka Jeronimus was quoted as saying.

"They make one stupid decision and then all of a sudden they are charged with this unbelievably serious charge."

Victoria's legal aid service will today launch a new initiative aimed at keeping youngsters out of trouble when it comes to exchanging lewd images, or sexting.

Source: Herald Sun

Author: Erin Tennant, Approving editor: Matthew Henry