The mother of a 16-year-old Greater Victoria high school student facing child-pornography charges says the case has taken a toll on her daughter.
“She’s a shell of the child she was,” the mother said.
The teenager, whose identity is protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, is accused of “sexting” naked photos of her boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend in November 2012. She was charged in February 2013 with possession and distribution of child pronography and uttering threats to the ex-girlfriend.
The youth’s lawyer, Christopher Mackie, plans to argue in court that it is unconstitutional to charge youths who engage in sexting with child-pornography offences because the process of sending sexual or erotic images by wireless devices, such as cellphones, is lawful for adults.
At a hearing Thursday in a Victoria courtroom, a judge ordered a date for the one-day trial be set by Sept. 24.
That will be followed by another hearing on whether the charges are allowed under the Canadian Constitution.
“We’re hoping for a trial by the end of the year,” Mackie said outside court.
Judge Sue Wishart ruled it was important to have the facts of the case heard in court before a constitutional challenge is heard.
The ruling is problematic, Mackie said, because the girl might be found guilty and tarred with the brush of being found to be a child pornographer before the court rules on whether the charges are valid.
The girl’s mother, whose name cannot be published because it would identify her child, said she could see the benefit of having the facts heard in court, but the ordeal has taken a toll on the 16-year-old.
The mother is calling for the schools, the legal system and police to become more educated and find different ways to cope with youth who distribute sexualized images.
She believes her daughter was singled out and suggests the other youth involved should have also faced charges.
“Everybody’s a loser here, really,” the mother said.
