Court Slaps Prosecutor Who Threatened Child-Porn
Charges Over ‘Sexting’

Pennsylvania appellate court upheld a preliminary injunction on Wednesday barring local prosecutors from filing felony child-porn charges against a teenage girl who took a partially nude photo of herself with her cellphone.

The court said prosecutors were using the threat of charges as retaliation against the teen for exercising her constitutional right to refuse a voluntary reeducation program favored by the district attorney. The court also determined it was likely the girl and her parents will succeed in a civil rights lawsuit they’ve filed against the district attorney’s office.

Last year, District Attorney George P. Skumanick, Jr., threatened to charge three teenage girls with felony child-porn violations over digital photos they took of themselves.