According to the OSPI (Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction), it is against policy to disclose the names of students related to behavior. This means the Riptide, or anyone else for that matter, is unable to publish the names of any boys accused of spreading nude photos.
Because the boys remain nameless, I will examine a type of boy who distributed nude images by way of a flash drive to other boys. For the sake of his privacy (so blatantly disregarded when it came to the girls), I will name this boy “John.”
“John” made the fully intentional decision to distribute nudes of students under 18 years old. It’s the kind of decision that could have ended in a class B felony, a maximum 10 years in a correctional institution, a $20 thousand dollar fine, and being put on the sex offender registry.
A class B felony for child pornography falls under the category of the following: to distribute images, own the images, view the images, or get revenge on a person by viewing and distributing their images. In fact, it’s illegal even to view the images.
Fortunately for “John,” in the United States Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it states that “everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty.”
Meaning, the entire school could know that “John” spread the nude pictures around, but the principal, Danny Rock, could do nothing without proof.
Earlier this fall, a concerned party anonymously reported the distribution of child pornography. The anonymous report system is crucial when it comes to bringing to attention sensitive matters such as this. Unfortunately, in this case, it did not turn out the way the concerned citizen or victims had wished. With no names and no proof, the school was left with a troubling issue and no way to resolve it.
What Mr. Rock decided to do was consult a King County detective to better understand child pornography laws when it comes to minors distributing between themselves.
Our principal wanted to know what happens when the sexting is consensual and what happens when it becomes non-consensual.
He learned that in Washington State, legislators recently passed a law which aims to eliminate criminalization of sexting that doesn’t constitute direct harm or is sent with the consent of the person photographed.
The anonymous report Mr. Rock received was clear enough to show that the images were sent without consent and with the intent to harm, but how could Rock seek action when he had no names?
Mr. Rock remembered last year’s then-named sophomores having similar issues. Although back then the boys were in no violation of the law, he could have made assumptions that these boys had something to do with the current predicament.
Once Mr. Rock had fully come to understand the laws surrounding distribution of child pornography, he was able to meet with the boys involved in last years issue.
“I was able to work with any of the named individuals last year to help them understand how close they came to violating a state law,” said Mr. Rock.
There was still no proof that these boys had anything to do with the latest scandal, so all this was a chat about what they “shouldn’t do.”
Another roadblock the school faced was how our society would react if “John” — perhaps a possibly beloved student, friend, and son — got charged with a class B felony. He’s a good guy that no one would expect to be guilty of this kind of behavior.
Ok, maybe just a little.
But he’s only a teen. Boys will be boys. It’s the same thing people keep hearing over and over again in our culture.
But there’s another narrative in this play here. This isn’t a victimless crime.
That narrative “Jane,” the girl who sent a nude picture to John. If it’s a class B felony to distribute child pornography, how does Jane get help when her body is being sent around to her classmates like the Internet’s latest meme?
And if you have ever purposely viewed child pornography (which many have), you too are in violation of a class B felony. In other words, the very laws that are meant to protect students are instead protecting the very action that is harming them.
The end of this true narrative is “John” becomes untouchable. Leaving everyone — “Jane,” Mr. Rock, and the community — in a state of frustration.
Except, perhaps, our friend “John.”