Teen charged for sexting with distributing child pornography

Today, a Youth Court Judge in BC is expected to hand down a sentence for the possession and distribution of child pornography.

In the wake of high-profile and tragic cases such as Amanda Todd and Rehtaeh Parsons, there has been a push to prosecute the distribution of intimate images.

But Christopher Mackie thinks the push has gone too far — especially when it comes to charging young people. Christopher Mackie represents "Jay" - who at 16 was convicted of sending a text with a nude photo of another young woman to a friend. We're calling her "Jay", and we're altering her voice, because we're forbidden from identifying her under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

We spoke with Jay and her lawyer Christopher Mackie yesterday. Her sentence is expected today.

Now, yesterday afternoon, after our conversation, the Crown laid two new charges against Jay. It alleges she breached her bail conditions by accessing the internet and contacting the complainant. We contacted the Crown, but the prosecutor said she couldn't discuss the facts of the case.

Lara Karaian made a submission to the court in Jay's case. She teaches at the Institute of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Carleton University. Among other things, she studies how obscenity is regulated by the law. Lara Karaian was in Ottawa.

Glen Canning is the father of Rethaeh Parsons. She died after trying to take her own life after being bullied when photos of her were spread through social media. Rethaeh's case, as well as the case of Amanda Todd, was alluded to by the Crown Prosecutor in the case against Jay.  Glen Canning was in Halifax. 
 

How should Canada's child pornography laws be used in cases of cyberbullying and sexting?

Tweet us @thecurrentcbc. Post on Facebook. Or email us through our website. Or if you missed something on the show, grab a podcast.

This segment was produced by Vancouver Producer, Jennifer Leask.