A 14-year-old girl is facing child porn-related charges over a series of nude self-photographs found on her MySpace profile. The teen was arrested and charged with possession and distribution of child pornography.

Social Network Investigation

The girl, from New Jersey, posted about 30 “explicit nude” pictures of herself to the social network, media reports indicate. Investigators say she said she uploaded them so her boyfriend could see them.

Now, however, she could face as much as 17 years in jail and be required to register as a sex offender, if she is convicted of the crimes.

There has been a string of child pornography cases related to teens exchanging nude photos in recent months. Most of those, however, have involved “sexting” — sending and receiving the photos via cell phones. Legal experts tell the Associated Press this is the first case they’ve seen where photos from a social network are involved.

Megan Kanka Connection

The potential sex offender registration comes as a result of Megan’s Law. Interestingly, though, Maureen Kanka — the woman whose daughter, Megan Kanka, led to the law’s creation after she was raped and killed by a sex offender in 1994 — has spoken out against the recent trend of prosecuting teens over racy photos of themselves.

Kanka says the girl should receive some kind of counseling rather than criminal action, telling the AP that “the only person she exploited was herself.”