What Age of Consent Laws Govern Interstate Sexting With Minors

1. Does cyber sex (aka cybering) with a minor fall under child pornography laws in the US?
2. If not and the two parties are in different states with different ages of consent, does the age of consent need to be met for both parties in both states? Or are things OK as long as each party has reached the age of consent in the state where they are?

States involved: Washington (16) and California (18).

Thanks,

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Quoting JohnJoe

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1. Does cyber sex (aka cybering) with a minor fall under child pornography laws in the US?

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The U.S. Justice Department explains the federal law on child pornography as follows:

Images of child pornography are not protected under First Amendment rights, and are illegal contraband under federal law. Section 2256 of Title 18, United States Code, defines child pornography as any visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct involving a minor (someone under 18 years of age). Visual depictions include photographs, videos, digital or computer generated images indistinguishable from an actual minor, and images created, adapted, or modified, but appear to depict an identifiable, actual minor. Undeveloped film, undeveloped videotape, and electronically stored data that can be converted into a visual image of child pornography are also deemed illegal visual depictions under federal law.

Notably, the legal definition of sexually explicit conduct does not require that an image depict a child engaging in sexual activity. A picture of a naked child may constitute illegal child pornography if it is sufficiently sexually suggestive. Additionally, the age of consent for sexual activity in a given state is irrelevant; any depiction of a minor under 18 years of age engaging in sexually explicit conduct is illegal.

Washington state has a similar law, and a 17 year-old male who sent a photo of his penis to a 22 year-old woman was prosecuted and convicted for distributing child pornography in 2013, a decision the Supreme Court of Washington upheld in a decision last September. California has several laws that address child pornography, but again they involves sexual depictions of a minor; just talking about sex is not child porn. If the images are sent over state lines, the laws of both states and the federal law may be violated. If the images are sent within a single state, that state’s law and the federal law may be violated.

So, if the cyber sex includes exchanging sexually suggestive pictures of the minor (anyone under age 18), including nude photos, that would likely violate the federal child pornography laws and the laws of one or both states and both parties could be potentially subject to prosecution for it. If all that is involved is just the two people chatting about sex, that does not create a child pornography problem. (Might create other legal problems, however.)

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Quoting JohnJoe

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2. If not and the two parties are in different states with different ages of consent, does the age of consent need to be met for both parties in both states? Or are things OK as long as each party has reached the age of consent in the state where they are?

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The age of consent is the age at which a person is considered legally capable of consenting to sexual activity (e.g. engaging in actual sex). It has nothing to do with simply talking about sex.

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Quoting Taxing Matters

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The age of consent is the age at which a person is considered legally capable of consenting to sexual activity (e.g. engaging in actual sex). It has nothing to do with simply talking about sex.

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which I have seen as creating a paradox . While a person may be able to consent to have sex at the age of 16 in their state, should they distribute an image of their own naked body, they can be Charged with distribution of child porn and the recipient can be charged with possession of child porn.

Its an odd situstion where the 16 year old could show their naked body in person and be within the law but precluded from recording an image of themselves naked and handing it to the same person standing in front of them.

Sex chats aren’t as risky but there are some situations that establish a paradox similar to the picture situation.

I suppose that does seem to set up a situation where my second question doesn't really make much sense to consider.

So ... assuming no images are exchanges and there is no intent/discussion/attempt to meet in person, is it legally relatively "safe" to engage in cyber (text-only) sex? Are there no laws that would govern that act when minors are involved?

Thank you for your replies!

Is it really so difficult to not do it?

I mean ... really?

It's very easy not to. However, not doing so doesn't satiate my curiosity about the legal aspects of it. I like understanding things.

Get thee to the nearest law library. It will be so much more satisfying if you actually find the information all by yourself, no?

You are walking very, very close to a violation of the rules of this site.

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Quoting JohnJoe

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I
So ... assuming no images are exchanges and there is no intent/discussion/attempt to meet in person, is it legally relatively "safe" to engage in cyber (text-only) sex? Are there no laws that would govern that act when minors are involved?

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There are other laws that might be implicated. For example, while it would not meet the definition of child pornography, it might meet the definition of distributing regular porn to a minor. While less serious than a child pornography charge, it still presents a potential problem. While in most places, two teens simply sexting with no images involved (i.e. just text) is not likely to get people worked up enough to pursue a criminal prosecution, the exact details of what is said would matter, as would the attitudes of the prosecutors and jurors in the areas where the two people involved are located.

The best advice I can give any adult dealing with a minor is simply stay away from anything that is sexual. Trying to sort out exactly what things are legal and what are not is like walking through a mine field: make a wrong step and it’ll blow up on you. And if you get prosecuted for some sort of sex charge involving a minor, it can get very bad indeed.

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Quoting Taxing Matters

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Trying to sort out exactly what things are legal and what are not is like walking through a mine field: make a wrong step and it’ll blow up on you. And if you get prosecuted for some sort of sex charge involving a minor, it can get very bad indeed.

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Drifting off topic, if that's alright. In the realm of law in general, are there a lot of fuzzy legal lines? Are some areas better defined that others?

No one here is going to give you permission to indulge in sex talk with minors.

And, if the minor's parents find out? Expect a world of hurt rained down upon you.

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Quoting JohnJoe

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Drifting off topic, if that's alright. In the realm of law in general, are there a lot of fuzzy legal lines? Are some areas better defined that others?

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It’s not that the law on this is “fuzzy.” The problem is that society has become extremely sensitive to the issue of kids and sex and as a result there are a lot of different laws that touch on the subject, each with differing rules and consequences. Each laws is itself fairly clear in what it prohibits. But the challenge is walking the overlapping lines that each of these differing laws creates.

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Quoting cbg

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No one here is going to give you permission to indulge in sex talk with minors.

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I wasn't requesting permission nor do I have any intention of doing so. I do tend to be curious about topics, though.

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Quoting Taxing Matters

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It’s not that the law on this is “fuzzy.” The problem is that society has become extremely sensitive to the issue of kids and sex and as a result there are a lot of different laws that touch on the subject, each with differing rules and consequences. Each laws is itself fairly clear in what it prohibits. But the challenge is walking the overlapping lines that each of these differing laws creates.

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Thanks for making that more clear to me! That's not very different from a large number of other human constructs which grew organically over time and resulted in some uneven edges between the various additions.