If you are a victim of receiving explicit photos on your cell phone, be sure that the culprit will never be punished, at least in Georgia.
The Supreme Court of Georgia acquitted 40-year-old Charles Leo Warren III, Monday, from charges of 'Distribution of Material Depicting Nudity or Sexual Conduct' after a Cherokee County woman had complained of getting obscene texts from him last November.
Warren sent a photo of his tattooed genital that read "STRONG E nuf 4 A MAN BUT Made 4 A WOMAN," reports the Ledger-Enquirer. Consequently, he was arrested last October and charged under a 1970s law that bans the unsolicited distribution of obscene material without a clear warning written on its container, such as an envelope and labeling that asks the receiver to return if not wanted.
However, Warren's lawyers argued that the law did not encompass text messages and that the charges were a violation of free speech, reports the ABA Journal.
The Supreme Court of Georgia had to agree saying that the law was not applicable to electronic text messaging. Judge Hugh Thompson ruled that sexting was let off from the Georgia code because "that form of communication did not exist when 16-12-81 was enacted in 1970." Otherwise, Warren could have faced up to three years in jail
"The specific prohibition is clearly aimed at tangible material that is delivered in a tangible manner... and because appellant did not send anything through the mail, he did not violate this prohibition," according to the expert opinion.
The General Assembly in Georgia tried passing a law in 2013 amending the 1970 nudity law to include images sent electronically. However, the attempt failed and it was not approved.
