◎陳成良

‘Sexting,’ one of the new rages in cell phone use, is leading some teens to problems with the law. The new craze of using the cell to take photos, send or receive photos of nudity has resulted in eight high school students, from a school in Pennsylvania, of being arrested. The charge is for sending child pornography via the internet.

一種新流行的手機使用方式「色情簡訊」，正為一些青少年

惹來官司問題。這種利用手機拍照、傳送或接收裸照的新風潮，已導致賓州一所高中的8名學生遭逮捕，罪名是透過網路傳送兒童色情物品。

The students, who range in age from 13 to 17, have each been charged with felony pornography. It is reported that the police have one short video of oral sex.

年紀介於13至17歲的這些學生，每人都被控以加重色情罪。據報導，警方握有（他們傳送的）一段口交短片。

Perry County District Attorney Charles Chenot has previously prosecuted two sexting cases, which involved ten minors, during the last year. He said he finds sexting to be a form of child pornography.

此前，裴利郡地區檢察官查爾斯．奇諾特去年曾起訴兩起色情簡訊案子，共有10名未成年人涉案。他表示，他發現色情簡訊是一種兒童色情形式。

However, a former U.S. Representative and present Harrisburg civil rights attorney, Don Bailey, is skeptical of the situation. He asked if these should be crimes at all. He said, “this is an over-zealous and inappropriate application of the criminal law.”

然而，前美國眾議員、目前在哈里斯堡擔任民權律師的唐恩．貝利對這種情況持懷疑態度。他質疑，難道這些行為算是犯罪嗎？他說，「這是刑法遭到浮濫且不當的應用。」

新聞辭典

sexting：結合sex（色情）和texting（傳簡訊）兩個字而成的新創名詞，指傳送色情內容的簡訊。

rage：名詞，風靡一時的事物。例句：Smartphone is the rage now. （智慧型手機是現在流行的東西。）

felony ： 重罪；重刑罪。例句 In ancient times, a person who committed a felony would have his family members sentenced to death with him.（古時候的人如果犯了重罪，就會被判處滿門抄斬。）