, is facing felony pandering obscenities charges after taping a sex act and showing it to friends at a skating party . A felony ? Yes this kid needs to be punished but we do n't need our 13 or 14-year-olds charged with child porn and lumped in with adult pedophiles and labeled as sex offenders . I 've spoken with several attorneys on our show and it seems there is no one reason prosecutors are opting to charge teens with child porn instead of lesser charges . Some may be doing it to `` send a message . '' Some may feel they have an obligation to charge these teens with the most serious offense possible and , according to the law , naked pictures of underage kids are usually considered child porn . And others may feel they are left with no options since there are n't really any laws that apply specifically to sexting . In any case , it 's clear we need to change our laws to catch up with technology . A great illustration of why change is needed now is the story of Phillip Alpert , of Orlando , Florida . He did
Editor 's note : Mike Galanos hosts `` Prime News '' from 5-7 p.m. ET Mondays through Fridays on HLN . `` Prime News '' uses the day 's most powerful headlines as a starting point for diverse perspectives , spirited debate and your points of view . Mike Galanos says child pornography charges are too harsh for teens caught `` sexting . '' ATLANTA , Georgia -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- `` Sexting . '' Have parents out there ever even heard of this term ? Whether you want to admit it or not , teenagers are sending sexual messages and naked pictures of themselves to their boyfriends and girlfriends . In most cases it 's the girl sending a picture or message to the guy . If you 're thinking to yourself right now , `` What 's the big deal ? '' then you should think again . This practice can ruin our teenagers ' lives . Six teens in Greensburg , Pennsylvania , were charged as juveniles with possessing child pornography after three girls sent nude or semi-nude pictures of themselves to three boys . It gets even worse . A 13-year-old boy in Middletown , Ohio