Boy Meets Girl, Boy Dates Girl, Boy Posts Nude Picture to MySpace, Boy Goes to Jail

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Anthony Rich of Bradenton, Florida was himself no older than 17 when he met and dated his then girlfriend, who was 15. With only a two year difference, and with both teens being under 18, you might think that there was no problem. In fact, given those facts, you might think that that there was no problem – at least legally – with her allowing him to take nude pictures of her. And depending on the age of consent in the state in which they lived, you might be right.

But then they broke up – and Anthony Rich – at age 17 – posted one of those pictures – a nude picture – of his 15 year old ex-girlfriend to her MySpace page. And now, two years later (and thus over the age of 18), Anthony Rich is facing 30 days in jail for child abuse and attempted child abuse – even though he was himself legally but a child when he posted the picture (for which, don’t forget, his then-girlfriend had willingly posed).

So, the question here is, what exactly was Anthony Rich’s real crime? Did it warrant jail time? Did it warrant child abuse charges? According to news accounts, Rich pleaded ‘no contest’ to the child abuse and attempted child abuse charges in order to avoid having to defend against ‘sex crime’ charges which, if he had been found guilty, would have marked him as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

Would this outcome have been the same if Rich, rather than posting to MySpace, which as been under a lot of scrutiny lately as a place where innocent young girls are taken advantage of, had posted the picture on another website? Remember, it was posted to her page, so she had the full ability to remove it.

Now let us hasten to add that we do not condone what Rich did. We’re just not sure that he should do jail time – for child abuse – over what essentially was a teen love angst spat, when he was under 18 himself at the time of the crime – or, indeed whether a genuine crime had been committed at all.

But what we really want to know is when her family is going to sue MySpace. After all, suing MySpace for transgressions against or even by (it really doesn’t seem to matter which) your daughter is the new all American pasttime.


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8 thoughts on “Boy Meets Girl, Boy Dates Girl, Boy Posts Nude Picture to MySpace, Boy Goes to Jail

  1. lmao ok umm im sure this girl regrets posing naked .. same goes for the guy for posting the pic .. “But what we really want to know is when her family is going to sue MySpace. After all, suing MySpace for transgressions against or even by (it really doesn’t seem to matter which) your daughter is the new all American pasttime.” and taking this whole thing to court will im sure end up being another regretible choice for this young girl … what i think happened was someone called her a slut cuz she was more attracted to another guy then they broke up more people calling her a whore then she dates another and he breaks up with her all the while other girls have labeled her as a tramp/slut/skank maybe gets in a fight at school her social life seems to be hell she checks her myspace and she sees lots of comments relating her to a hooker … she starts crying goes to mommy or daddy (witch ever one is easiest to munipulate) and sobs about how she feels violated and broken so they hire a lawyer to sue because they themselves are bad with choices and are actually simple folk with equally simple intellect and parenting skills to fix it for them … that my opinion of what went down and i dont think this guy should have to face jail time… i mean child abuse? hahaha what judge will agree to that shiiiiikocka maybe only three judges in the nation would hear this case pffft please they are both children they are both still children ! this kinda behavior is what happens in todays social world … this shit happens … deal wid it … oh and im sure their personal emotions a fully justified… both of em … but heres the thing um THEY ARE PERSONAL not legal clause … but if the only thing that will make you fill that void that you think is pain (its shame of your character) then by all means then do what makes you happy … just dont bring that shit in my neck of the woods or i will deeply deeply rip you a new one … … …

  2. i always take pictures of the girls i have sex with, how i suppose 2 no how old they r, das rong if i gota get busted 4 what they do

  3. However, I agree he was very close to adulthood. Depending on the area that decision could go either way.

    As I understand it, it’s not the taking of the photo that was illegal. Or rather, shouldn’t have been. Nude is not necessarily pornographic. It appears that what was illegal was posting/publishing a photo of a minor without getting a consent signed. (and anyone under 18 the waiver needs to be signed by a legal custodian, her parent).

  4. rose
    It looks like you need to learn your own “stuff”. He was 17 when he did what he was charged with.

    “In late August, Rich pleaded no contest to child abuse charges…. He was 17 when he posted the photo of his then 15-year-old girlfriend on the social networking Web site.”

    I’m sure you can find this in any number of places but the particular quote above is at The Bradenton Herald online

  5. Well, to correct this.. let me tell you the boy was in fact 19 when it happened if you had any brain or credibility. Did you ever think that.. HELLO it was on a friday night with drunken rampage.. no one was on myspace except the freaks. And they were the ones that saw the picture.. no one had access to it.. and did you notice that he made 600 flyers and passed them out to a local party of everyone in the high school. Note:he had already graduated and she hadnt. Thank you and learn your shit

  6. What if he’d posted it to a site for pedophiliacs who love underage girls?

    She was 15. If I’m not mistaken, he could have been charged with the production and distribution of child pornography.

    And when it comes to your contention that his being under 18 somehow mitigates this… Since when is 17 too young to know right from wrong. We’re living in a society where teenagers are increasingly being tried as adults because they’re increasingly committing adult crimes.

    And your contention that “she had the full ability to remove it”. Sure, but what if someone had the ability to copy it and redistribute it before she could exercise that ability? What if that someone then posted it to a kiddie porn site?

    Once he published that photo, this boy set in motion a variety of possible consequences that could have messed up this girl’s life for a long, long time.

    So, I ask you to reconsider if a potential 30 day sentence is too harsh for a callous and potentially heinous act committed by someone only a few months from legal adulthood?

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