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MSNBC Digital Life...
Teenage boy
brags about Facebook porn arrest on Twitter
By Helen A.S. Popkin
A teenage boy arrested for posting a sexually explicit video of a
14-year-old girl and himself on Facebook boasted about his newfound
infamy on Twitter.
The boy, also 14, of Gloucestershire in the U.K., was “arrested in
connection with making and distributing an indecent video and has been
given a final warning by police, meaning the incident will remain on
his record for the next six years,” website This is Gloucestershire
(TiG) reported earlier this week. (His name isn’t publicized because of
his age and the nature of the crime.)
The story hit other local media as well, which the boy made the most of
after his release — posing with a copy of the Gloucestershire Citizen
newspaper with the all-caps headline “SCHOOL KIDS IN SEX VIDEO,” and
posting a photo of himself holding the newspaper story on Twitter.
“I find it hard to fathom that he was apparently allowed access to
Twitter, Facebook or any other social media site to brag about his
newfound ‘fame,’ “ said the parent who discovered the photo and
forwarded it to This is Gloucestershire. (TiG is the online version of
the Citizen newspaper.)
“Inevitably, however, he has also attained some kind of cult status,
which, as is evident from the picture posted on Twitter of him holding
up a copy of yesterday’s Citizen, he seems to be reveling in.
“Sadly, it would appear that arrest and a police warning have done
nothing to teach this young man a lesson.”
The boy’s punishment may seem lax, but he likely would’ve fared
similarly in the United States. Reports of adolescents being charged
with sex crimes for sexting and similar tech-related behavior grab
headlines, but a recent study from the Crimes Against Children Research
Center notes such cases are the exception.
“Many of the youth sexting cases that come to the attention of police
include aggravating circumstances that raise concerns about health and
risky sexual behavior, although some cases were relatively benign,” the
study found. “Overall, arrest is not typical in cases with no adults
involved.”
While the Gloucestershire boy won’t do jail time, his bragging means
it’s not the last he’ll hear from police.
“Officers will be speaking to the boy and his father again to make sure
he realizes the consequences of his actions and that his Facebook
activity is monitored,” a police spokesperson told This is
Gloucestershire.
One area school, where neither the boy or the girl involved attend,
used the incident as a teaching moment for parents, addressing the
local scandal in the school newsletter.
“It is very sad that our young people are exposed to such pornography,
but as you are aware it is one of the evils of modern technology,”
wrote Lawrence Montagu, head teacher at St Peter’s High School.
“We simply have to continue educating the young to reap the benefits
that modern technology offers but not to fall into the trap of misusing
it.”
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