Teenagers and the Law: Sexting

Victoria is one of the first states to make the sending of these images illegal with new laws passed in Parliament under the Crimes Amendment (Sexual Offences and Other Matters) Bill 2014, which amends to the Summary Offences Act 1966.

New sexting laws are due to be introduced in Victorian Parliament today, making it illegal for people to share explicit images without consent.

Under the legislation, people under the age of 18 who sext each other would no longer be found guilty of child pornography offences or put on the sex offender register.

Sexting
For people under 18, non-consensual sexting is illegal and penalties can be very serious.

There have been 174 sexting offences recorded since the laws came into effect, and around 29 per cent of alleged offenders were minors aged between 10 and 17, according to figures from the Crime Statistics Agency.

A MAN has been convicted with possessing child pornography, and placed on the sex offenders register after he kept nude photographs of his stepdaughter that she had sent to her boyfriend because he wanted police and her school to take action.