Similar case might land up in Supreme Court
By Geneviève April
www.thesuburban.com
The ten teen sexters accused of production, possession and distribution of child pornography were back in court Jan. 20 and 22. Since police are still combing through the information several of their computers and smartphones, the case was postponed until late March, pending the results of the investigation.
“It is a fairly routine procedure, especially in this type of case,” said Crown prosecutor Karine Dalphond.
The ten boys who are to stand trial, aged 13-15, allegedly texted one another revealing pictures that they received from their girlfriends. The seven girls whom police referred to as “victims” are about the same age as the boys.
Police told The Suburban that the boys sent pictures of their penises to the girls, to encourage them to reciprocate with revealing digital pictures of themselves. The boys stand accused of having shared those replies with one another, without the girls’ knowledge.
The boys were only indicted as pornographers. Both police and prosecutor confirmed that no charges of coercion, intimidation or menace were filed against them. Police also confirmed that the girls took the pictures voluntarily, sent them willingly and used their own electronic devices to do so.
“At this time, there are no charges against the girls involved. Although I can’t confirm or deny whether charges will be filed in the future, there are none as we speak,” said Dalphond.
Unconstitutional?
A similar case wrapped up Jan. 10, when a Victoria, B.C. court convicted a 17-year-old Saanich, B.C. girl of possessing and distributing child pornography, after she used her cellphone to share naked pictures of her boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend with acquaintances.
It’s the first time that a child has been convicted for distributing child pornography, so the case might set a precedent which could influence the outcome of the Laval 10.
The convicted girl’s lawyer, Christopher Mackie, vigorously objected to criminalizing a child for actions that are legal between adults. He told news media that he has already filed a constitutional challenge and also plans to file an abuse-of-process appeal.
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