Man Who Lawfully Had Sex with Girlfriend, 17, Could Face Decades in Prison for Taking Sexually Explicit Photos of Her
While age of consent to have sex is 16 in Ohio, it is not the age of consent to take sexy photos of minors in the nude. In fact, it is illegal to create, share, or possess sexually-explicit images of someone younger than 18.
This fine distinction could send one man to prison for decades.
That’s because Edward Marrero was 20 at the time he was having consensual sex with his then-17-year-old girlfriend—but also snapping sexually explicit photos of her, according to an affidavit.
Marrero revealed this information on the stand in federal court, when he was testifying in defense of a roommate who was facing child pornography charges. He was immediately arrested.
“It defies all reason that a man could go to prison for three decades for taking a sexy picture of a teenager who was deemed fully capable of consenting to sex,” according to Reason.com. “This is a travesty of justice, a violation of consenting adults’ sexual freedoms, an abuse of mandatory minimum sentencing, a blow to states’ rights, and an absurd waste of the FBI’s time.”
According to the U.S. Department of Justice’s guide to federal child pornography law, “a first time offender convicted of producing child pornography ... face fines and a statutory minimum of 15 years to 30 years maximum in prison.”
Under Ohio law, “Marrero would have faced between six months and eight years.”
Source: reason.com
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