Just or Unjust
Life is about learning from your mistakes but what if your mistakes cost you your integrity within society for life? Adam Allen has endured being called a sex offender because of the explicit images he distributed of his ex-girlfriend during his teenage years. Some may look at this situation at first glance and say “what a piece of trash” or “this guy is an asshole”, but does he really deserve to be labeled a sex offender who conspired to relinquish pictures of an underage girl? Now labeled as a sex offender should Adam Allen be an advocate for banning or outlawing (sexually curious) teenagers from sexting?
Adam Allen like many other teenagers participates in activities that are dangerous, stupid, and destructive. Some teenagers skip third-period math every day, while others take illegal drugs at parties. All these scenarios express the indiscretion of youthfulness teenagers have in their glory years. With no concern or sense of responsibility only moving off of pure impulse. Impulsive behavior can be used to describe Allen’s mistake when he was a teenager. Except his mistake would haunt him forever. After a volatile break-up with his now ex-girlfriend, Adam Allen decided he would release or share nude images of her online for revenge. At the time one can assume he was hurt as well as stupid to commit such a heinous act.
Unfortunately, his actions led to his conviction for distributing images of a minor and being registered as a sex offender for the rest of his life. At the time of this event, Adam had just turned 18 and the individual in the images was underage. His life came crumbling down and he found himself in a hole he couldn’t get out of. One must ask does the penalty match the offense? Some may argue yes because of personal feelings but the majority of us would disagree. Should Adam have been issued punishment? Without a doubt Mr. Allen should have experienced punishment as well as seen the grip of the law for embarrassing, violating, and hurting that young girl. Still, I ask the question once again did the penalty match the crime?
It is evident that the American justice system has yet again failed our youth by throwing them into the inferno of criminal punishment without rational thought. Adam Allen should have faced criminal charges involving privacy violations (that could hold possible jail time) as well as a generous fine to rectify the situation. He should have even been sued privately by the victim and the victim’s family, forced by the courts to pay or face temporary imprisonment. With all this said his conviction and mandatory registration as a sex offender missed the mark in fair and just punishment.
In US law both the perpetrator and victim can be charged for possessing nudes of the victim if both perpetrator and victim are underage. This means teenagers that are sexually active and participate in sexting can be found guilty in a court of law. Hasinoff states that “the popularity of sexting abstinence as a solution to privacy violations can be understood as part of a cultural context that routinely views women and girls as sexual objects but condemns those who appear to be sexual subjects. In other words, sexting is an act of sexual autonomy and expression that is so outside the bounds of acceptable femininity for some observers that they seem to believe that it invites, and perhaps even justifies, victimization.” (Hasinoff, page 211, 2017). This message from the legal system is extremely dangerous because it demonizes sexually active teenagers and portrays them as perverts or sexual deviants. This also suggests and shames older teenage women that send nudes as “promiscuous” individuals who deserve the outcome of being exposed. I truly understand this perspective as being disgusting and unfair to teenagers who are confused and misinformed.
In regards to this situation, I would use a utilitarian approach in finding a plausible solution to exercise appropriate justice for the victim and perpetrator. There needs to be a revision of certain laws dealing with teenagers and consensual sexual activity. The act of two teenagers engaging in sexual activity should be decriminalized in a court of law if both parties have agreed to interact consensually. Another step would include redefining what happened here as a violation of privacy instead of a sexual offense. Everyone needs to be accountable for their actions but to throw the title of a sex offender on a teenager who sent out nudes of his ex-girlfriend out of malice is beyond extreme. This teenager will now have to attend sex offender meetings with rapists and other criminals who truly are sex offenders. That’s not fair to a kid who just made a stupid mistake but is remorseful for his actions (Hasinoff, 2017).
In conclusion, there needs to be a level of reform within the justice system regarding sexting among teens. We need laws to provide safety for young women and men as well as laws to ensure that teenager’s rights are visible during situations like this. If we as a society ignore these laws that are currently in place now more teens like Adam Allen will experience the unfair and harsh realities of the American justice system.
Bibliography
Hasinoff, A. A. (2017). Sexting and Privacy Violations: A Case Study of Sympathy and Blame. International Journal of Cyber Criminology, 11(2), 202–217. doi:10.5281/zenodo.1037391
