A man who retained pornographic text messages sent between her teenage stepdaughter and her boyfriend in the hope that the police could take action on the evidence was convicted of possessing the child pornography. As a result, his name was recorded on the sex offender roster.
This is an extremely rare case and could have an impact on other parents who are worried about their children sending pornographic texts.
This week, the 57-year-old Ashan Ortell was sentenced to justice by a state intermediate court after admitting to copying a naked photo of the child to a computer and a U-disk.
In the incident, Ortell first informed the police and stepdaughter school about the latter sending naked photos to her boyfriend, but was dissatisfied with the police and the school's handling of the matter.
Despite being warned that his actions would be prosecuted, he kept the nude photos unwillingly.
After refusing to delete the photos, Ortell's computer and U-disk were seized during several police raids in 2013.
A total of 18 porn pictures were found inside.
At the time of the incident, Ortell was the guardian of her stepdaughter and his own three young children. By then, he and his stepdaughter's mother had broken up for some time.
Judge Jane Patrick, in a 12-month wake-up order for Ortell, said it was a "very different case" than a case involving child pornography.
"I agree that you left those pictures out of concern for the child, but foolishly thought that was the right way."
The case revealed that Ortell copied the photos from the phone of a 15-year-old stepdaughter at the time of the incident.
The judge said that while Ortell's crime was "very minor in terms of moral negligence," the law forbids the retention of child-related pornography.
The judge said: "in this case, there is no evidence that these photos will be used for other crimes, and you have not tried to hide the storage of these photos. In fact, it was out of concern that you contacted the authorities and informed them of the existence of these photos. "
Under child pornography laws, Ortell's conviction can lead to up to five years in prison. But Judge Patrick said any sentence needed to be commensurate with the severity of the crime.
The court learned that Ortell had no criminal record and had excellent prospects for transformation.
Judge Patrick noted that the impact of the case on Ortell's stepdaughter and her boyfriend was not clear because they had not submitted any victim impact statements.
At the time of his conviction, Ortell learned that his name would be recorded on the list of sex offenders, and that he would have to meet the requirements over the next eight years.
Registered sex offenders must report their whereabouts on a regular basis and must not be involved in any child work.
The state police said many people did not know that their actions had broken the law when sending and retaining nude photos.
Police encourage parents to use mobile phones for their children, advise them to communicate with their children about sending sexual messages, and encourage children not to communicate with people they don't know.
