Technology

TRENTON (AP) ― A 14-year-old New Jersey girl has been accused of child pornography after posting nearly 30 explicit nude pictures of herself on MySpace.com -- charges that could force her to register as a sex offender if convicted.

The case comes as prosecutors nationwide pursue child pornography cases resulting from kids sending nude photos to one another over cell phones and e-mail.

MySpace would not comment on the New Jersey investigation, but the company has a team that reviews its network for inappropriate images. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children tipped off a state task force, which alerted the Passaic County Sheriff's Office.

The office investigated for a month and discovered the Clifton resident had posted the "very explicit" photos of herself, sheriff's spokesman Bill Maer said Thursday.

"We consider this case a wake-up call to parents," Maer said. The girl posted the photos because "she wanted her boyfriend to see them," he said.

It is not a crime to view the photos, Maer said, but it is illegal to download them. Authorities are looking at additional arrests but have no plans to charge people who accidentally viewed the photographs, such as any of friends who have access to the girl's profile.

Investigators are looking at individuals who "knowingly" committed a crime, he said, declining to comment further because the case is still being investigated.

The teen, whose name has not been released because of her age, was arrested and charged with possession of child pornography and distribution of child pornography. She was released to her mother's custody.

If convicted of the distribution charge, the girl would be forced to register with the state as a sex offender, said state Attorney General Anne Milgram. The sex offender law calls for, among other things, restrictions on how close such felons can come to schools.

In northeastern Pennsylvania, a prosecutor recently threatened to file child porn charges against three teenage girls who authorities say took racy cell-phone pictures that ended up on classmates' cell phones.

The American Civil Liberties Union has asked a federal judge to block the filing charges, saying that the teens didn't consent to the picture's distribution and that the image is not pornography, in any event.

"Teenagers need to know that there are serious consequences for sharing risquDe or compromising pictures of themselves, but trying to teach that lesson with heavy artillery like child-pornography charges -- which can have lifelong consequences -- is uncalled for. Who does it protect?" said Deborah Jacobs, executive director of the New Jersey ACLU.

Called "sexting" when it's done by cell phone, teenagers' habit of sending sexually suggestive photos of themselves and others to one another is a nationwide problem that has confounded parents, school administrators and law enforcers.

Prosecutors in states including Pennsylvania, Connecticut, North Dakota, Ohio, Utah, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin have tried to put a stop to it by charging teens who send and receive the pictures.

Milgram, the attorney general, could not recall another case in New Jersey in which a youth was charged with child porn for posting photos of themselves to a social networking site. She cautioned parents to get on those sites and monitor what their kids are talking about and posting.

"Unfortunately, youth don't have the same judgment as adults, and often, adults don't have the same technical savvy as the youth."

(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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