07:20 PM EST on Wednesday, March 29, 2006

By CYNTHIA NEEDHAM
Journal staff writer

North Smithfield police have arrested a teenager and a 19-year-old woman who posted sexually explicit photos of themselves on the Internet.

The police say Elizabeth Muller of 6 Sorel Ave., North Smithfield and a 16-year-old female friend from Lincoln put the pictures on myspace.com, a popular Web site where young people socialize online.

During a routine patrol of the site, Lincoln High School Resource Officer David Waycott recognized the teenager from school and alerted the police department’s juvenile division.

"They were fully naked and posing together," said Capt. Denis Smith of North Smithfield.

Under Rhode Island law, posting naked pictures of an underage person, even one’s self, constitutes child pornography.

After further investigation, the police said they learned that the pair photographed themselves and posted the pictures from North Smithfield, putting the case under that town's jurisdiction.

North Smithfield police arrested Muller over the weekend at her home. The teenager was taken into custody soon after. Each was charged with one count of child pornography.

Muller was arraigned on Monday. The 16-year-old was also charged with violating a court-ordered curfew, according to state Attorney General's Office spokesman Michael Healey. Her case was referred to Family Court, and she is being held at the Rhode Island Training School pending a probable cause hearing Friday.

A second 16-year-old was also arrested in connection with the postings after the police learned that she had helped photograph and post the pictures of her friends. That girl was charged with one count of conspiracy for her involvement.

The girls have not been identified because they are minors.

Sullivan said the pictures have since been removed from myspace.com.

-- With Associated Press reports