Girl, 14, charged with child pornography

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 children sending nude photos to one another over phones and e-mail. Legal experts could not recall another case of a child porn charge resulting from a teen’s posting to a social networking site.

MySpace has a team that reviews its network for inappropriate images. The National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children tipped off a state task force, which alerted the Passaic County Sheriff’s Office.

The office discovered she had posted the “very explicit” photos of herself, sheriff’s spokesman Bill Maer said.

“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.

The teen was arrested and charged with possession of child pornography and distribution of child pornography. She was released to her mother’s custody.

If convicted she could face up to 17 years in jail, though such a sentence is unlikely.