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Texas Senate approves 'sexting' bill
Would reduce charge to misdemeanor for teens
Updated: Thursday, 14 Apr 2011, 6:58 PM CDT
Published : Thursday, 14 Apr 2011, 1:57 PM CDT
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - The Texas Senate on Thursday voted to allow prosecutors to charge teens 17 or younger with a misdemeanor, not a felony, if they are caught sending sexual text messages to their friends.
The practice is called "sexting," and current law mandates that anyone who transmits an explicit image of a teen can face felony charges of possessing or trafficking child pornography.
State Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, said he filed Senate Bill 407 because he doesn't want teens to get labeled as sex offenders for the rest of their lives for doing something stupid. Watson's bill creates different levels of misdemeanor charges for sexting.
The bill, which now goes to the House, also has been endorsed by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott.
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