Michigan Teens Face Child Pornography Charges For Sharing Explicit Pictures Of Sex Act On Social Media

Police in a small western Michigan town are investigating how explicit photographs of a “sex act” that took place in a nearby high school are going viral on social media.

Two individuals were photographed in a sex act, while several others are watching nearby, according to WXMI. Those pictures of the Michigan Teens have since gone viral, with “hundreds of thousands” of shares via social media such as Twitter.

Police in Grandville, Michigan are involved because at least one of the teens in the photos is underage. Further, the alleged sex act appears to have taken place near the neighboring town of Wyoming, Michigan, which means Wyoming police are also involved according to MLive.

Grandville Public Schools Superintendent Ron Caniff told MLive that, when the school was notified of the alleged photos of the sex act, they notified police.

“We are not in a place to impose a consequence if it’s out of our jurisdiction. Upon our initial investigation, this incident did not occur on school property or during a school activity.”

Because the photos involve underage people in a sex act, they are technically considered child pornography. According to Wyoming Police Capt. Kim Koster, anyone who possesses or distributes/shares those pictures is guilty of possessing and distributing child pornography.

“Nobody should be sharing them.”

As the sexually explicit photos have been going around social media, various comments have sprung up, most of which disregard the serious nature of the photos.

“Looking great in Grandville!”

“Grandville putting itself on the map woohoo you go Grandville.”

Others have tried to distance the community from the photos, saying that the actions of a handful of teens shouldn’t be associated with the whole community.

Grandville’s still the same. One girl’s bad decision doesn’t change that

— Riss (@MarissaKinneyy) September 21, 2014

I’m still proud to be from Grandville just cause one girl made a mistake doesn’t mean the whole community did

— ????? ????? (@amirahabden) September 22, 2014

According to Safe Teens,teenagers taking nude or sexually explicit pictures of themselves or each other and sharing them on social media can lead to a host of consequences long after the pictures have been taken, including cyberbullying, embarrassment, and even felony charges. For example, according to this Inquisitr report, gymnast McKayla Maroney — who was one of the celebrities whose nude photos were leaked in “The Fappening” — could be facing child pornography charges for taking pictures of herself when she was underage.

Do you believe that these Michigan teens should be charged with felonies for taking sexually explicit photos and sharing them on social media? Let us know what you think in the comments.

[Image courtesy of: NBC News]