A James City County girl who was facing one count of distribution of child pornography after she allegedly tweeted nude photos of herself will not be tried over the matter, nor will it appear on her record.
Her case was handled by juvenile intake, which is a branch of the court system featuring employees of the Juvenile & Domestic Relations Court who analyze charges pending against juveniles. That department decides if those charges should move forward to court or if they should be handled at the intake level, often resulting in education for the alleged offender, according to Williamsburg-James City County Commonwealth’s Attorney Nate Green.
He said the girl will not have a felony charge on her record, nor will she be a convicted sex offender.
“That’s not the intention of the police officer and our office,” Green said. “The officer never intended and never thought it would result in a felony conviction for the girl. I’ve never had this level of inquiry about another juvenile that was handled at intake.”
The distribution of child pornography charge the girl faced is a felony, carrying potential jail time. That won’t be happening in this case, however, as the case was handled by juvenile intake.
“The entire juvenile system is meant to rehabilitate kids,” Green said. “Not every child who commits a delinquent act needs to come to juvenile court.”
Most cases that do make it past intake and into the juvenile court system result in a deferred finding, where the court mandates an educational program for a juvenile. That decision results in a probationary period, which yields no conviction if it is completed successfully. Even if convicted, misdemeanor charges are expunged when the juvenile becomes an adult.
The girl allegedly posted some nude photos of herself to Twitter on Jan. 29, according to police. Someone reported the pictures to police, who then intervened, according to Maj. Stephen Rubino of the James City County Police Department.
Rubino told WYDaily parents should be aware of what their children are doing with their Internet-enabled devices. He said it is prudent for parents to have access to accounts used by their children, as it is easy to get in trouble with technology.
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