Maryland Court Rules Teen's Video Violated State's Porn Law

ANNAPOLIS, MD — The Maryland Court of Appeals has ruled that a Maryland teen who sent a video of herself performing a sexual act to two friends has violated the state's child pornography law.

The court issued its 6 to 1 decision Aug. 28. Court documents say that the then 16-year-old, identified by her initials as she is a minor, shared the video with friends October 2016. Those two friends showed the video to a school resource officer a few months later after the group was no longer friends.

The court's majority opinion stated that the law does not make any exceptions for minors who share lewd material of themselves. According to the AP, Judge Michele D. Hotten was the lone dissenter. She wrote that the law was intended to protect children from exploitation and in this case, the teen was not being exploited.