With the emergence of the internet many laws need to be enacted pertaining to having sex with minors. I know it is a felony to use the internet to arrange a meeting with a minor with the intent of having real life sex. In fact there have been cases where people have been busted arriving at the meeting place which was actually arranged by undercover agents.
However with videocams and chat rooms being formed by the hundreds, is it illegal for an adult to 1) chat sexually online with a minor, 2) have “cybersex” with or without live video with a minor, 3) send self-sexual photos or video to a minor 4) receive self-sexual photos from a minor or 5) engage in phone sex with a minor…
It was seem these acts are indeed illegal, but are there laws covering this area yet?
You are One Wierd Cowboy. - MC
Look, I have two kids under the age of 10, and I think it’s a valid question. I would assume that there are laws in different states, with varying degrees of severity.
To me, the real question is this: Assuming the two parties are in different states…WHOSE laws pertain? The adult’s, or the minor’s state laws? Is there precedence? Anyone?
Cartooniverse
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Of a more immediate concern to prosecutors is proving that the adult believed he was having cybersex with a minor. Without making arrangements to meet in real life (and thus demonstrating an expectation that his partner is, in fact, a minor), the adult can invoke the Naughton defense: it was all fantasy and roleplaying. How would the prosecutor prove otherwise?
Never attribute to an -ism anything more easily explained by common, human stupidity.
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- I ain’t a lawyer, but -
“3) send self-sexual photos or video to a minor” - sounds like supplying obscene material to a minor, illegal most places in the US, and
“4) receive self-sexual photos from a minor” - is called “child pornography” which is illegal to posess, no matter how you got it.
- I ain’t a lawyer, but -
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- I suggest you skip the phone stuff, save your nickles and vacation in Tailand. Bring condoms; the local brands are reputedly dicey. - MC
Minor= Under 21
child, or underage= Under age of consent (18, california).
Step right up Melin, Im sure youll tell me otherwise.
Nono, very illegal doing that stuff with children, underage people, etc.
Ahem its not me thats weird. Im concerned… It does exist. When I say minors I mean girls under 18)… Im not saying children which I think are classified 13 and under) get in those chat/video rooms and its like having free candy in a candy store to them. Yes they are not supposed to be there, but they are bombarded with indecent video snapshots etc… along with solicitations for cybering etc… Yes its not right… and Im sure laws will be enacted to prevent it, but are they in place now?
Virginia law prohibits any person over 18 from “Propos[ing] that any [child under 15] feel or fondle the sexual or genital parts of such person or propose that such person feel or fondle the sexual or genital parts of any such child; or [p]ropos[ing] to such child the performance of an act of sexual intercourse or any act constituting an offense under § 18.2-361…” The key element is ‘proposing’ - not actually doing, or even being physically present. Violation is a felony.
18.2-361 prohibits “Carnally [knowing] in any manner any brute animal, or carnally know[ing] any male or female person by the anus or by or with the mouth.” Also a felony.
So if the offeror is in Virginia, he’s guilty of that violation. I’m not sure how or if venue might be established if the offeror is not in Virginia. As to other state law - beats the heck outta me.
Federal law also has something to say about this, and if the communication is inter-state, I’d look to it first.
18 USC 2251 prohibits, inter alia, inducing or otherwise causing any minor to engage in any sexually explicit behavior for the purpose of producing a visual depiction thereof.
I can’t find any case law where cyber-sex in text form only has been interpreted as “visual depiction.” The definition in the code section says, “‘visual depiction’ includes … data stored on computer disk or by electronic means which is capable of conversion into a visual image.” (emphasis added). It would be a stretch, I think, to prosecute a cyber-sexer under this law. But who knows?
I can’t find any other Federal law on point… doesn’t mean it isn’t there, just means I can’t find it. 
- Rick
Sorry - I didn’t directly address the questions in the OP.
So far as I can tell (and this is my opinion only, not legal advice; consult an attorney licensed wherever you are for legal advice):
1) chat sexually online with a minor
Illegal (per my post above) in Virginia, assuming the sexual chat ever got to the point where it could be said that someone was “proposing” the child perform such an act, even in the fantasy of the sex chat. Not forbidden by Federal law. Other states? Dunno.
2) have “cybersex” with or without live video with a minor
Without video, this just seems a re-hash of #1. No expert on cybersex I, though – isn’t “chat sexually online” the same as “cybersex”? With video, this becomes a felony in Virginia if either the child or the adult is in Virginia (§ 18.2-374.1(4)). Not a violation of federal law AS FAR AS I CAN SEE. Other states YMMV.
3)send self-sexual photos or video to a minor
Felony in Virginia, not prohibited under federal law AS FAR AS I CAN SEE, other states YMMV.
4) receive self-sexual photos from a minor
Felony in Virginia (causing minor to produce, possession of also a felony); felony under Federal law (creation and possession both).
**5) engage in phone sex with a minor… **
Felony under Virginia law, legal under Federal law AS FAR AS I CAN SEE, other states who knows?
- Rick
Addendum:
It goes without saying that to violate the federal law, you must have transported the violative material between states.
However, I have found cases that seem to stand for the proposition that any Internet transmission satisfies this element. This is not a hypothesis I would care to defend tooth and nail, but for what it’s worth… United States v. Thomas, 74 F.3d 701, 706-07 (6th Cir.), cert. denied, 117 S. Ct. 74 (1996); United States v. Maxwell, 42 M.J. 568, 580 (U.S.A.F.C.A. 1995).
- Rick
The FBI often poses in chat rooms as underage children to nab pedos. I’ve seen many news programs showing this.
Chatting with someone who ends up being underaged likely wouldn’t be a legal problem if they didn’t indicate that they were a child.
If they did represent themselves as a child, as long as you had a reason to suspect that they were engaging in a fantasy (like them talking about a job before cyber sex, then acting young) you’d probably be okay.
If they said they were a child, and you had no reason to doubt this… You’d probably be SOL, assuming you did anything that’d be against the law in person.
The thing about propositioning probably isn’t what they’d get you on, because in cybersex you’re not actually proposing that someone hop on a plane and come pleasure you, you’re asking that they describe what they’d like to do, which should be different enough.
But, it might qualify as child pornography, which is illegal to posess. (Yes, in some areas, written material can be child pornography, even if completely fictional… weird laws.)
On the subject of the recent case where the guy was in #daddy-daughter-sex on IRC… I think he’s got a pretty good case that he expected a grown woman. I mean, how many young girls would go into a channel like that on IRC (‘She’ was there all along, it’s not like he invited her or anything). Sure, he went to meet her, but they arrested him too early. They should have, imho, had a very young cop, in pig tails, there, waiting for him, and arrested him only after he didn’t say “Oops, I’ve made a mistake.” The way they did it, imho it’s likely he’ll get off. But, he’ll still be ruined for life, I mean, having your name publicized in this context, even if you are innocent, is pretty likely to ruin a career.
Anyways, I think it comes down to, knowledge of their age, or if you had reason to suspect. It’s hard to arrest someone for something like this without intent, and if they just ended up being younger, there’s no intent to do anything with a child.
I agree that child pornography is illegal to possess. Do you know, specifically, of a state that criminalizes written words, as opposed to visual images? Neither the Virginia or Federal laws do this.
- Rick
They don’t need a law, they can just make one up, like they do here all the time.
What about those naked kid cupids for valentines day? Porno?
Perhaps while it doesn’t count technically as ‘sex’ per se, one would still be busted for ‘contributing to the delinquency of a minor’, which I imagine applies to all sorts of things.
Bricker, Your quote from s. 18.2-361 seems to suggest that oral or anal sex between consenting adults is also a felony in Virginia (on a par with bestiality, it would appear). Is that correct? If so, how on earth is it enforced?
TomH, you get caught doing it, you get arrested. Oral and/or anal sex are still illegal in some states.
This is where “prosecutorial discretion” comes into play.
So far as I am aware, this law is never enforced against consenting heterosexual couples.
It is, however, enforced against gay men using parks and whatnot as cruising spots.
But yes, oral and anal sex is per se illegal in Virginia as between any people, and is prohibited by the same law that prohibits bestiality.
- Rick