Prosecutors barred from charging girls in "sexting" case

Terrie Morgan-Besecker

SCRANTON- A federal judge today issued a permanent injunction precluding Wyoming County prosecutors from filing charges against several teen girls involved in a “sexting” case.

U.S. District Judge James Munley issued the order based on assurances made by the Wyoming County District Attorney’s office that it does not intend to file charges now, or any time in the future, against the girls.

Prosecutors and attorneys with the American Civil Liberties Union, which represented the girls, worked out the agreement at a pre-trial conference held yesterday with Munley.

Sexting involves the transmission of sexually explicit digital images over the Internet to computers or cell phones. The case stemmed from photos of three partially clad girls that were discovered on the cell phones of several students in the Tunkhannock Area School district in 2008.

Mary Jo Miller, the parent of one of the girls depicted in the photos, was the lead plaintiff in a federal complaint filed in federal court in 2009. Miller objected to an ultimatum given by former Wyoming County District Attorney George Skumanick, who threatened to file child pornography charges against the girls unless they agreed to attend a class regarding the dangers of sexting.

Munley’s ruling ends the case. Wyoming County may be on the hook to pay attorneys fees to the ACLU, however. Munley gave both sides 30 days to try to resolve that issue. If an agreement cannot be reached, a petition will be filed with the court, and Munley will decide the matter.