McKayla Maroney: Nude Photos Require Sex Offender Charges For Celebrity, Says White House Petition
McKayla Maroney’s nude photos have the Olympic medalist less than impressed with the hackers, and she’s even trying to take legal action against the hacker(s) who stole her photos. But now a new “We The People” White House petition claims it is Maroney herself who needs to face sex offender charges due to breaking child pornography laws in the United States.
In a related report by The Inquisitr, some believe Jennifer Lawrence’s nude photos should be an example of slut shaming, since it’s believed that if the actress had not been behaving in such a manner, then the photos would never have been available in the first place.
While Maroney is 18-years-old now, it is claimed that the leaked photos depict the young woman when she was underage at 16-years-old. Maroney’s teammate, Alexandra Raisman, tweeted about the photo leak, requesting that people not attempt to find or download them.
“This scandal is not a joke and it is upsetting that an invasion of privacy results in entertainment for some. Please respect the fact that the photos were private and not for the whole world to see. My heart is broken for the women who were violated.”
Unfortunately, not everyone has empathy for the plight of McKayla Maroney. The title of the White House petition is very blatant, demanding that President Obama and the government “charge McKayla Maroney with production and possession of sexual material containing a minor. According to McKayla, the photographs in question were hacked from her iCloud account and are of her underaged. Don’t let her get away with a crime that would get a normal teenage girl landed on the sex offenders list.” As of this writing, 556 people have already signed the petition.
As outlandish as the White House petition may sound, U.S. child pornography laws have been enforced in this manner in the past. As The Inquisitr previously noted, some prosecutors believe that if a minor takes “a photograph of yourself or somebody else while nude and sends it to somebody else, you’ve committed the crime.”
The critical legal difference is that Maroney did not intend to distribute the photos, although the U.S. Department of Justice defines child pornography as “any visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct involving a minor.” Due to the lack of details surrounding the intention or circumstances of the alleged crime, some states prosecute anyone who is in the possession of nude photos of underage individuals, even if it’s the very same person who is depicted in the photograph or video.
Should McKayla Maroney’s nude photos land the celebrity in hot water with the law? Or do you think it’s the law itself that needs to be changed?
