The posting of sexually explicit photos on MySpace.com leads to the arrests of two 16-year-old girls and a North Smithfield woman, 19.

01:29 AM EST on Thursday, March 30, 2006

BY CYNTHIA NEEDHAM
Journal Staff Writer

NORTH SMITHFIELD -- A teenage girl and a 19-year-old woman who posted sexually explicit photos of themselves on the Internet now face child-pornography charges.

The police say Elizabeth Muller, of 6 Sorel Ave., North Smithfield, and a 16-year-old Lincoln High School student put pictures of themselves "in a very compromising position" on MySpace.com, a popular Web site where young people socialize online.

Yesterday, the police arrested a third girl in connection with the postings after learning that she helped photograph Muller and the Lincoln teenager and upload the pictures onto the Web. That girl, also 16, faces one count of conspiracy to help distribute child pornography.

During a routine monitoring of the MySpace site last week, Lincoln High School Resource Officer David J. Waycott recognized the 16-year-old in the online photographs and alerted the town Police Department's juvenile division, where a detective identified Muller as the other teenager in the pictures.

The photos, the police learned, were allegedly taken at Muller's home in North Smithfield and posted on both teenagers' MySpace.com accounts.

"There were two pictures depicting the two young ladies in a very compromising position in which neither party had clothes on," said North Smithfield Capt. Denis Smith who assisted in the investigation. "[They were] fully naked and posing together."

Under Rhode Island law, using a computer to post sexually explicit pictures of a person under 18 -- even of one's self -- constitutes child pornography.

The law states that it is a violation "for any person to knowingly mail, transport, deliver by any means, including by computer, any child pornography."

It doesn't matter if the person posting the photographs is a minor, or if the photos are of him or herself. It still amounts to child pornography, according to Michael J. Healey, spokesman for the attorney general's office.

Healey acknowledged that it is "far from the norm" for a juvenile to be charged with child pornography.

"But unfortunately, given the explosion in popularity of MySpace.com and these sites, we're going to see more cases like this as we move along," he said.

Earlier this week, North Smithfield police arrested the 16-year-old Lincoln girl on a single count of child pornography. The teenager, who has not been identified because she is a minor, appeared in Family Court on Monday where Chief Judge Jeremiah S. Jeremiah ordered her held at the Training School on a curfew violation in an unrelated case.

The girl is scheduled to appear again in Family Court tomorrow and will undergo a court-ordered psychiatric evaluation, Healey said.

Muller was arrested at her home late Sunday. She was also charged with one count of child pornography and was arraigned in District Court, Providence, on Monday, Healey said. The specifics of her arraignment were not available.

In January, MySpace.com, boasted 47.3 million members with an estimated 160,000 new users signing up for the free site every day. The vast majority of registered users are young adults and teenagers who post photos and sometimes detailed personal information for anyone with a password to see.

The Web site's list of terms and conditions prohibits members from posting "any photographs containing nudity, or obscene, lewd, excessively violent, harassing, sexually explicit or otherwise objectionable subject matter." But the site assumes no responsibility or liability for such material.

A spokesman for MySpace.com did not return a call for comment yesterday afternoon.

The amount of child pornography taking place on social Internet sites is largely unknown. Nationwide however, teenagers have been arrested for posting inappropriate information such as photos of themselves with drugs or guns on these sites.

In Rhode Island, the growing media attention about the safety of teenage Internet communities has prompted police and school officials in several towns to educate parents and their children about the dangers of posting personal information on social networking sites.

High school resource officers such as Lincoln's Waycott say they regularly monitor MySpace.com and other sites like it to make sure students are staying out of trouble, according to Deputy Police Chief Brian Sullivan.

That's how Waycott found the inappropriate photos featuring the Lincoln High School teenager.

Sullivan said the photos in this case were removed after the police notified MySpace.com officials of their sexual nature. But hundreds of less explicit shots from teenagers around Rhode Island remain.

With reports from projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples

cneedham@projo.com / (401) 277-7374

SURVEY: Should parents, school administrators and local police do more to monitor postings on MySpace.com?

http://projo.com/myspacesurvey