An article in the Washington Post alleges that Manassas City police and Prince William County prosecutors want to take photos of a teenage suspect's erect penis as evidence to prosecute him for sexting with his girlfriend. In order to photograph the suspect's erect penis he may be required to go to a hospital and receive an injection to create an erection.
It appears that the case began when the suspect's (he is 17 years old) 15 year old girlfriend sent photos of
herself to the 17 year old, who responded by sending the 15 year old girl allegedly pornographic images of himself. The family of the girl notified authorities about the matter. Interestingly, prosecutors did not file charges against the girl.
This case reminds me of the movie Porky's when physical education teacher Ms. Balbricker asks the high school principal if he would sanction a penis (tallywacker) lineup of several students so she can identify which student stuck his penis through a peep hole in the girl's bathroom. Ms. Balbricker claims she can identify the offending student's penis because it contains a distinctive mole. In the movie, the request for the penis line up was denied.
Was the prosecutor's troubling request inspired by Porky's? As a parent of two young children, I am outraged by the actions of the police and prosecutors in this matter. What happened to educating our kids about the dangers of sexting? Why are prosecutors utilizing public resources to try to photograph a teenager's erect penis?
My hope is that prosecutors and judges across the country realize that this is the wrong way to deal with sexting by teenagers.
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