Finally enforceable, Pasco deputies learn about Florida's new sexting law

By Josh Solomon, Times Staff Writer

Thursday, November 26, 2015 4:20pm

Pasco deputies recently learned about Florida’s new sexting law and how it pertains to teens.

New York Times

Pasco deputies recently learned about Florida’s new sexting law and how it pertains to teens.

NEW PORT RICHEY — Until this past summer, Pasco sheriff's deputies had only two options when they caught teenagers exchanging nude photos of themselves: charge them with felonies or do nothing at all.

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But thanks to a new state law, sexting — the codified term for minors sharing skin electronically — is no longer a crime that could affect a teenager for the rest of his or her life.

Last week, Pasco deputies learned about the new consequences of sexting, which are much less severe than they used to be.

"Basically, before the sexting law, it was child pornography," said Sgt. Zak Arey, head of the Pasco Sheriff's Office's cybercrime unit. "The law was created because you've got two 15-year-olds sending pictures; why slam them with child pornography charges?"

Now, a first-time sexter receives a noncriminal citation, similar to a county ordinance violation. Offenders have to pay a $60 fine, do community service or take an eight-hour online class to clear the violation.

Previously, if the State Attorney's Office chose not to prosecute a case of sexting as child pornography, the teen faced no consequences. The new law gives law enforcement the ability to discourage bad behavior without ruining anyone's life. A child pornography conviction could come with jail time, years of probation and registration in the state's sex offender database.

"It's a way to be a teachable moment," said Sgt. Steve Frick, who oversees student resource officers in middle schools and high schools in west Pasco.

Under the new law, second-time offenders face a misdemeanor criminal charge. The crime can rise to the felony level, but only after a third violation.

The sexting law was actually passed in 2011, but had a gaping loophole in it that made it unenforceable: First-time offenders received a noncriminal charge, but there is no court within the Florida judicial system that has jurisdiction over juvenile civil offenses.

So, lawmakers passed a fix during the last legislative session, changing the penalty for a first offense from a civil charge to a civil citation. It went into effect July 1, making the law enforceable for the first time.

The sexting law only applies to juveniles and nude photos, said Sgt. Jennifer Zoccoli, who also oversees student resource officers and led the training last week. Child pornography laws are still on the books, but only kick in if the photos depict minors engaging in sexual activity. The sexting law also doesn't apply if someone is blackmailing another person for nude photos or with nude photos, she said, only if all parties are sharing willingly.

"(Sexting) is the lowest level of nude image transmission for juveniles," Zoccoli said.

In the case of a first-time offense, Zoccoli told deputies to delete the photos from the phone's image gallery and ensure that backups don't exist on the cloud or in a trash folder. Only then can deputies give back the phone. In the case of a repeat offender, deputies have to impound the phone, as it becomes evidence in a criminal case.

It's not just teens of a certain age who seem to be susceptible to sexting. School district spokeswoman Linda Cobbe said the cases she's aware of generally have occurred at high schools, but Zoccoli said she has seen the problem in middle schools.

"There are more middle-schoolers than you'd think because they don't necessarily understand the consequences as much as high school students do," Zoccoli said.

Sexting is very much a 21st century problem. Arey said the capabilities and ubiquity of smartphones means just about every teen can snap a photo and send it from the same device.

"The technology is easy," he said.

Pasco public school teachers do address sexting as part of a healthy-relationship curriculum, Cobbe said.

"If you're in a relationship with someone and they want you to send them a picture of yourself that you think is inappropriate, that is not a healthy relationship," she said.

Contact Josh Solomon at (813) 909-4613 or jsolomon@tampabay.com. Follow @josh_solomon15.

Finally enforceable, Pasco deputies learn about Florida's new sexting law 11/26/15 [Last modified: Thursday, November 26, 2015 4:21pm]

Last modified: 26 Nov 2015 4:25 PM | John (Administrator)