The mother of a 17-year-old girl convicted of distributing child pornography says her daughter was unfairly singled out in the sexting case.
The Victoria, B.C. teenager, who cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, sent explicit images of her boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend, also a teenager.
“My daughter and her family understand that she was involved in behaviour that was unacceptable and she has accepted full responsibility for her part in this teenager disaster that resulted in her being convicted as a child pornographer,” the girl’s mother said in a statement released by the family’s lawyer.
However, the mother also said that “during court we heard numerous testimonies from other teens involved who also possessed and distributed photos outside of the relationship they were intended for.... and yet my child, who is the youngest of them all, was the only teen charged... (and) my daughter's phone was the only phone examined...”
“I am still a believer that all of the teens involved should receive some form of professional counseling,” she added.
The 17-year-old was also convicted of possession of child pornography and uttering threats.
The girl’s lawyer, Christopher Mackie, plans to launch a constitutional argument against the conviction.
"We wanted to ideally avoid this kind of situation that we have now where my client has a conviction of child pornography," he said after the ruling.
"The concern being that if ultimately we succeed on the constitutional argument and it's found to be unconstitutional, then she's had to deal with the stigma of having been painted a child pornographer for the interim."
With files from The Canadian Press
