Dear Dr. Wes and Gabe:I read your column about sexting, and I attended the parent-version of the school meeting with law enforcement you mentioned. Were you aware of two bills in the Legislature that would create the crime of 1) distributing sexually explicit images of youth and 2) possessing consensually texted images of a minor, even without further distribution?

Under the possession offense, the sender bears no criminal liability. The possessor does, though he or she can assert in defense that he or she didn’t ask for the photo, tried to delete it, and didn’t send it on to anyone else. What are your thoughts on this? Thank you very much for your work!

Wes: I appreciate you bringing this legislation to our attention and meeting with me to discuss it further. The bills (HB 2018 and SB 391) are nearly identical, and just as you note, they attempt to refine and clarify the legal response to the wave of teenagers sexting explicit pictures. As it stands, any teen could be adjudicated and placed on the sex offenders registry for making, transmitting, or possessing sexually explicit images of a minor even if the minor depicted is of legal age to have consensual sex in the real world and even if the minor is him or herself.

Double Take columnists Gabe Magee and Dr. Wes Crenshaw

Before parents rush to their computers to email me their view that kids who do stuff like this deserve consequences, please consider A) the practice is so widespread that the maker or possessor of said images could easily be your kid, and B) the sex offenders registry is no place for most of the teens who do this. If the registry has any value at all — and there’s a case to be made either way — it should be reserved for people who pose a threat to others, not for kids doing dumb kid things.

These bills would protect teens from the bluntest end of those consequences, and thus readers might want to write their legislator and ask him or her to support them, but as Gabe points out, there remains a significant flaw in the wording of each bill that could still land some kids in more legal jeopardy than they deserve.

Gabe: We’ve dealt with both state legislation and sexting separately in this column several times this year, so it was only a matter of time before the two collided. What I’ve learned from covering these topics is two things: The distribution of nude images of all kinds is even more common than I’d guessed, and legislation addressing a behavior this common often creates unforeseen collateral damage, especially with the wide range of scenarios that can occur.

Under HB 2108, someone who was sent a photo, even without their consent, could be brought up on charges. Yes, they could hire a lawyer and use the defense you suggest and maybe be exonerated. Ah, if only things worked out that fine and dandy in the real world. Simply being arrested for the possession of illicit images of a minor is enough to ruin the life of the possessor, even if he or she isn’t convicted. Good luck getting a job with that being a Google search away, not to mention the social implications.

Of course, nude photos aren’t sent to unassuming teens in the majority of cases, and any distribution of nude photos without the subject’s consent should be taken seriously. But, a balance must exist so that the punishment for taking the unwise action is not so sweeping that innocent teens are caught in the crossfire. Perhaps we might instead focus more legal attention on the sender rather than the receiver without completely ignoring the receiver in cases where the pictures are solicited. The balance of guilt should be determined on a case-by-case basis, where we can only hope that society will reserve judgement until an actual verdict is reached.

— Wes Crenshaw, Ph.D., ABPP, is author of “I Always Want to Be Where I’m Not: Successful Living with ADD & ADHD.” Learn about his writing and practice at dr-wes.com. Gabe Magee is a Bishop Seabury Academy senior. Send your confidential 200-word question to ask@dr-wes.com. Double Take opinions and advice are not a substitute for psychological services.