Lieutenant David Sanabria & Detective Heather Cassidy Essex County Prosecutor s Office Forensic Analysis & Cyber Technical Services Unit
Today s Topics of Discussion.. Sexting /Cyber Bullying Actual/Perceived definitions What is considered sexting / cyber bullying Statistics Consequences/Laws and more Video link to video 2 - an active internet connection is required
Sexting Generally refers to self-produced photos that are sexually suggestive or sexually explicit Often photos are forwarded by the intended recipient without the sender s knowledge or consent The Urban Dictionary: -The act of text messaging someone in the hopes of having a sexual encounter with them later; initially casual, transitioning into highly suggestive & even sexually explicit
Results/Statistics 20% of teens overall have sent or posted nude or semi-nude photos or videos of themselves to others One-third (33%) of teen boys and one-quarter (25%) of teen girls say that others have shared nude/semi-nude images with them that were originally meant to be private 15% have sent such photos to someone they only knew online Four in ten teen girls who have sent sexually suggestive content did so as a joke, but 29% of teen boys agreed that the girls are expected to date or hook up in real life
What s the harm? Social consequences: Embarrassment/taunting at school & online Photo/video will exist be available FOREVER Friends can see and share photos Parents can see photos Law Enforcement can see photos Damage done to the lives of others
Hope Witsell, 13, Florida Age 13: Sent a topless photo of herself to a boy she liked at school Someone else in the school got the photo while using the boy's phone, which was soon all over her school and the internet Her friends at the school and her family at home tried to protect her as she walked the hall, trying to help her though the situation
Hope Witsell, 13, Florida 11 weeks later, she decided she couldn t take it anymore And Hope committed suicide http://www.youtube. com/watch?v=ey7aaypv--k
The Law Taking the picture: Creating Child Pornography Felony Sending the picture: Distribution of Child Pornography Felony Keeping the picture: Possession of Child Pornography Felony Not reporting the picture: Failure to report child abuse Misdemeanor Showing the picture: Distribution of Child Pornography Felony As a sex offense: Mandatory Sex Offender Registry
States That Have Charged Teens: Criminal charges filed against teens in the following states: - Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Alabama, Wisconsin, Florida, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Texas, Utah, Kansas
Incidents Across The Country Wisconsin: A 17-year-old was charged with possessing child pornography after he posted naked pictures of his 16-year-old exgirlfriend online Alabama: Authorities arrested four middle-school students for exchanging nude photos of themselves New York: a 16-year-old boy faces up to seven years in prison for forwarding a nude photo of a 15-year-old girlfriend to his friends
Incidents Across The Country Florida: - An 18 year old boy received unsolicited pictures from his 16 yr old girlfriend. When they broke up, his adolescent mind thought it would be a great idea to forward the pictures to all of his x- girlfriend s relatives. He was convicted of Dissemination of Child Pornography and has to register as a sex offender until he is 43 years old.
Possible Charges EWC Mfg./Distribution Child Pornography, 2C:24-4b(3), (4), 5(a) EWC/Possession of Child Pornography, 2C:24-4b(5)(b) Invasion of Privacy, 2C:14-9 Criminal Coercion, 2C:13-5a(3) Harassment, 2C:33-4
Cyber Bullying.What is considered Cyber Bullying?
Cyber Bullying Bullying involves a power play, trying to make someone else feel weak and helpless while inflating your own value Online bullying is particularly tempting to people, since anyone with access to a computer can partake Cyberbullying occurs when one or more individuals use the Internet to inflict psychological harm on another individual This can occur in many forms, including: using social media techniques to spread hurtful or untrue information about another individual, creating fake identities and using them to manipulate others, posting unwanted photos of an individual, or doctoring photos
Why do people Cyber Bully? Often motivated by anger, revenge or frustration Entertainment Some do it by accident The Power-hungry Revenge of the Nerd Bolster or remind people of their own social standing Righting wrong and standing up for others
Types of Cyber Bullying Direct Attacks - Messages sent directly to someone Cyber bullying by Proxy - Using others to help cyber bully the victim either with out without the accomplice s knowledge. Because cyber bullying by proxy often gets adults involved in the harassment, it is much more dangerous
Cyber Bullying Direct Attacks Instant Messaging/Text Messaging Harassment Stealing Passwords Blogs Web Sites Sending Pictures through E-mail and Cell Phones Internet Polling Interactive Gaming Sending Malicious Code Sending Porn and Other Junk E-Mail and IM s Impersonation
Cyber Bullying by Proxy Most of the time they are unwitting accomplices and don't know that they are being used by the cyber bully Warning or "Notify Wars" Sometimes starts with the cyber bully posing as the victim Get others to do their dirty work quickly
Prevention Preventing cyber bullying How can you stop it once it starts? School role in this? Parents role in this? Examples of cyber bullying and how it impacted lives
ECPO Takes a Stand Against Cyber bullying Essex CountyEssex County Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray announced recently the arrest of a 14-year-old Jersey City juvenile on terroristic threats and harassment charges for cyber bullying two 12-year-old Belleville boys The juvenile, used Facebook and the phone to harass and threaten the victims, was charged with four counts of making terroristic threats and two counts of harassment In those messages, he called the victims "gay'' "fat" and "a punk,'' and threatened to harm them and even kill them
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