Principal Talking About My Juvenile Record

My principal said that a friend of mine can be labelled a sex offender for the rest of his life because he has nudes of his girlfriend. Is he just bluffing? Also, both are 15 years old.

No, he's telling the truth.  Child pornography is considered any depiction of a minor under 18. If he has nudes on his phone of a 15 year old, that in fact, makes him a sex offender. Not only will be likely be charged with possession of child pornography but she can also be arrested on felony child pornography charges. She can face time in jail and once released, will have to register as a sex offender. Kiddie Porn Charge for Pictures of Herself2 North Carolina teens hit with child porn charges after consensual sextingWhat’s strange is that of the five charges he faces, four of them are for taking and possessing nude photos of himself on his own phone—the final charge is for possessing one nude photo his girlfriend took for him. There is no evidence of coercion or further distribution of the images anywhere beyond the two teenagers’ phones.Similarly, the young woman was originally charged with two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor—but was listed on her warrant for arrest as both perpetrator and victim.2 North Carolina teens hit with child porn charges after consensual sextingThink this is ridiculous? Students have faced worse.Cory Mashburn and Ryan Corneilson ran down their school hallway, slapping as many girl's butts as they could. Caught by a teacher's aid, they were facing 10 years in juvenile detention and a lifelong registration as sex offenders. Yamhill County "spanking" case: Sunday story, video and related documentsLuckily their charges were dropped.But here was a real eye opening case. A 17 year old boy is facing charges of child pornography for sexting his 15 year old girlfriend. In response, they created a search warrant which asked to chemically induce an erection on him for "evidence" to be used in court to compare the pictures he had sent. After a major outcry and accusations of abuse, they decided to let the search warrant expire.Police drop plans to photograph teen’s erection in sexting caseWhat's interesting is that in many states, these teens could legally have sex, just not legally sext. In a sort of backwards way it seems the courts would rather teens have sex with each other than just do things over the phone. Yes, for many states, the age of consent was 16. However, some have Romeo and Juliette laws which grant a "close in age" exception. Your principal was not lying, he's telling the truth. Your friend and his girlfriend could have easily been prosecuted and spent time in jail and a lifetime of registering as sex offenders.

Is it legal for your teacher to record you during class?

Sure, just like it’s legal for you to record the teacher. There are plenty of YouTube posts showing a teacher in a humorous situation. Recording may or may not be covered by school regs, so check with the office first.The question comes up as to what the teacher’s recording will be used for. If the recording is of the entire class, the teacher may be preparing a presentation for a higher degree and wants to show how her teaching techniques work. Maybe she is going to extract things for the yearbook.If the teacher is singling you out, that is a bit different. If you have a discipline problem which your parents refuse to believe, recording you screwing up can be pretty convincing. If the purpose is to show you twitching after ingesting crystal meth, that recording can be used by police as probable cause for a drug test.If you are squeaky clean, and the teacher is recording specifically you, then after class politely ask the teacher why. Have your pocketed cell phone on to record your question and the response. After listening carefully, and there is no reasonable answer forthcoming, you can ask the teacher — again politely — if the recording has been approved by the Principal. This will scare the shit out of almost any teacher. If not, you can ask the teacher to stop, as it is interfering with your learning. You are now on record — via your cell phone — as objecting. If the teacher continues on recording you, that teacher will be in big trouble.If it has been approved by the Principal, tell your parents and have them ask for an immediate conference with the Principal. They might want to bring a lawyer.

What are some things teenagers can be sent to juvenile detention for doing?

Truancy for one thing. Breaking windows, shoplifting, fighting. In my county they have a series of steps to go through involving the parents for early offenses.First offenders are placed on probation and they, with their parents are required to attend a monthly large group lecture.As they progress, they and their parents, have to attend classes once a week. Together and separately.Their first stint in the hall is like a weekend and there’s house detention first with an ankle bracelet.Anything that happens in school is zero tolerance. Fighting, drugs, etc. bam! they’re kicked out of the school district and no other district will accept them, not even continuation schools. Since they HAVE to go to school they’re stuck in with the hardened gang members and killers that juvenile hall provides a school for.

Is it legal to record a conversation without consent in Oklahoma?

Both Oklahoma law and federal law include statutes permitting private citizens to record telephone conversations if the private citizen is a party to the conversation. The statutes also authorize recordings if the citizen is not a party to the conversation, if one of the parties has given prior consent to record it.The federal law is codified at 18 U.S.C. § 2511(d). It provides, it “shall not be unlawful for a person not acting under color of law to intercept a wire, oral, or electronic communication where such person is a party to the communication or where one of the parties to the communication has given prior consent to such interception[.]”Thus, while the law places certain conditions on persons acting under color of law — that is, acting on behalf of the government — to record conversations, federal law allows private citizens to do so.However, federal law limits this authorization, if the communication is intercepted for the purpose of committing any criminal or tortious act in violation of the Constitution or laws of the United States or of any state.Oklahoma law is virtually identical to the federal law, and is codified at 13 O.S. § 176.4.While most states’ laws are similar to Oklahoma’s, some states are more strict than Oklahoma and federal law. Thus, in some states it may be a crime to record a conversation without both parties’ consent. You should thus proceed with caution if you move outside Oklahoma, or if the conversation you are recording involves someone located in another state.As a further cautionary note, remember it may be the other party to a conversation who is recording it without your consent! If you are involved in a domestic dispute or any other type of litigation, or you expect to be, you may want to keep this in mind.And, while both the Oklahoma law and the federal law have been on the books for many years, you should also double check the current status of the law periodically, to ensure it has not changed. In any event, we recommend you contact an attorney before recording telephone conversations, to be sure you are in full compliance with the law.SUSAN B. LOVING is an attorney for Lester, Loving & Davies P.C. More information is available at lldlaw.com.

Why don't parents don’t let their children be children anymore?

Wow! When I was a child, I was allowed very wide latitude to run, to explore, to even get into a little trouble now and then, and to try to work my way through some of the difficulties I made for myself. But I was born in a simpler age. So I’d like to look both backward and at today.In the nineteenth century, most Americans lived on farms. The most important workers on these farms were the farmer’s wife and children. Farmers needed large families, because there was lots of work. Many children died young from both disease and farm accidents. I suspect that childhood didn’t become the sort of experience you imagine until our society became rich and relatively lazy during the fifties and sixties. Until then, we were too poor to be able to afford “childhood.”The idyllic childhood you imagine probably did exist for many young people in the suburbs during the second half of the twentieth century. I’m not at all certain it did for minorities, poor people, and others not wealthy enough to indulge their children.Currently, in a contracting economy filled with images of wealth and success enjoyed by too few, parents have become increasingly ambitious for their children and protective of them. Kids don’t play sports, they work at them. Few will reach “the top” who haven’t been afforded summer sports camp and specialized in a single sport from their earliest years, with parents spending huge amounts of money to provide camps and even private sports coaches to assure their getting a scholarship. Similar struggles exist in musical instruments, with camps and programs too expensive for all but the upper middle class without a family’s making great sacrifices. The kids carry our desires for them, and are sometimes ruined by that ambition.There isn’t a long history of the childhood idyll. Maybe it’s not even desirable. Nor is it deemed safe, today, to allow kids the space to roam. There are too many dangers around. I don’t know if your image of “childhood” will ever be restored or whether it should be.

My child was disciplined at school for farting in class but the reason officially given was "antisocial behavior". How do I get the record changed to fully reflect the circumstances?

1. I would ask to talk to the teacher responsible to try & understand the circumstances. eg: Are they being stupid by complaining about an "innocent fart", a natural function, they didn't like the smell of.Or is did they feel your child "baked it" & blasted it out for maximum noise & hilarity of the whole class. Was it a "one off" situation or was this ongoing within the class which they had all been warned about?2. (optionally) If the teacher might have some valid points, I would then talk to my child to see how they describe the situation. 3. Based on your discussions you may then choose to meet with the School principal  to voice your concerns. If they don't resolve it. I would put it in writing "ie" Thanks for meeting with me today. The following is a recount of what we discussed. ...". I would then take it up with their manager (typically the school board.). I would also have a discussion with the people on the Parents & Teachers Association ( P&C ) perhaps they have more influence over the principal. Clearly how far you persue it depends on the child. Some of my kids were angels & may have been embarrassed if they slipped one out. One of my kids it was "never his fault" even when we caught him red handed. He probably did need a "kick in the pants" every now & then.