Federal Judge Blocks Charges In Pa. 'Sexting' Case

[Purveyor]

Source: Associated Press

(03-30) 15:39 PDT Scranton, Pa. (AP) --

A federal judge has blocked a prosecutor from filing child pornography charges against three northeastern Pennsylvania teenagers over racy cell phone pictures.

U.S. District Judge James Munley issued a temporary restraining order Monday against Wyoming County District Attorney George Skumanick Jr. The prosecutor has said he would pursue felony charges against the girls unless they agree to participate in a five-week after-school program.

But the teens say they didn't consent to having their pictures distributed to classmates' phones. They also claim the photos aren't pornographic but protected First Amendment speech.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/03/30/national/a153940D31.DTL