KNOXVILLE, IOWA — A 14-year-old girl in Marion County is facing the wrath of a flawed judicial system for sending a couple of seductive selfies to a boy at her school.
Earlier this year the student, referred to as Nancy Doe in court documents, took two photos of herself -- one of her in a sports bra and shorts, and the other also in shorts, with her hair covering her breasts. She sent the pictures to a boy at school using SnapChat, and before long, other students at the school got to see this other side of the young Nancy Doe.
The situation escalated in March, when two male students were caught using the school printers for non-scholastic material. A school official found them with printed copies of photos of male and female students, some of which were nude, with emojis covering their private parts. Nancy Doe’s pics were part of that collection, and school officials then contacted Nancy’s parents to let them know what her daughter had done. Her parents were told the photos were “inappropriate.” They confronted her that day, and restricted her phone access, deleting her messaging apps.
The county attorney tried to have Nancy Doe charged with sexual exploitation of a minor and child pornography, unless she agreed to be part of a diversion program where she admits fault, and is told how she could be forced to register as a sex offender. 30 of Nancy’s classmates were threatened with charges of possessing child pornography unless they submitted to participate in the diversion program.
Her classmates all agreed to the diversion program. Nancy’s parents did not, as they don’t feel the photos constituted as child pornography. Instead, they are now suing the county prosecutor.
