Two teenagers got busted for sexting naked selfies to themselves, something thousands of stupid teenagers do every day
BarkGrowlBite | September 26, 2015
When Cormega Copening and his girlfriend Brianna Denson were both 16, they sexted naked selfies to each other, something thousands of stupid teenagers do every day. No one else saw the genitalia explicit photos. The now 17-year-old Fayetteville, North Carolina teens were busted earlier this year on felonious porno-related charges.
Cormega, was the quarterback of the Jack Britt High School football team. He faced four charges of sexual exploitation of a minor for sending four naked selfies to Brianna and another charge for receiving one from her.
The Fayetteville Observer reports Cormega took a plea deal of one-year probation which requires that he must stay in school, take a class on making good decisions, complete 30 hours of community service, not use or possess alcohol or illegal drugs, not possess a cellphone and must submit to warrantless searches.
Cormega faced up to 10 years in prison had he been convicted on the felonious charges. And he would have had to register as a sex offender.
Brianna was originally charged with two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor. She was listed on the arrest warrant as both perpetrator and victim. She took a plea deal on July 21 and was sentenced to one-year of probation on a reduced misdemeanor charge.
Cumberland County Sheriff’s Sgt. Sean Swain justified the arrests by saying, “We seized his phone and while our investigators went through the phone they saw there were photos of himself and another person on the phone,” He reminded critics of the arrest that North Carolina law makes it illegal for anyone under 18 to send or receive sexually explicit photos. “Simple possession having it on your cell phone is a charge itself. And if you should send it out to another person, that is another charge."
North Carolina handles anyone as an adult who has committed a crime after turning 16.
Apparently, the cops were conducting an unrelated investigation having to do with Cormega’s cellphone when they seized it. According to the Fayetteville Observer, there is no record of a search warrant being issued for Copening’s phone. I wonder why their lawyers did not try to have the cases thrown out of court on grounds of an illegal search?
The strangest twist in this case is that both were charged with exploitation of a minor when they themselves were minors.
Both teens will have their records cleared if they successfully complete their probation.
I think this is a case of justice gone berserk! Cormega and Brianna did not pass any of the photos to anyone else. They really did no harm to anyone, including themselves. This is 2015, not 1915. I strongly suspect they were sexually involved with each other before they ever sexted those explicit selfies.
Sgt. Swain gave a lame excuse for why these teens were busted and charged with felonies. Cops are given discretion on whether or not to make arrests in certain cases. In this case, they could have let Cormega and Brianna off with a stern warning.
Don’t the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department and District Attorney's Office have anything better to do than to ruin the lives of two stupid kids?
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