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The issue is that the picture then exists, and it’s hard to prove it was actually destroyed.
For example, when I was in high school, a bunch of girls would send nudes to guys. But that was 10 years ago. Those pictures still exist. Those dudes aren’t minors anymore. Their Messenger chats probably still exist somewhere. Nothing’s really preventing them from looking at those pictures again.
I get why it’s illegal. And, honestly, I find it kind of weird that there’s people trying to justify why it shouldn’t be illegal. You’re still allowed to have sex at that age. Just don’t take pictures/videos of it.
That makes complete sense except that stuff just does not register with teens. If a couple months in juvenile hall and 100 hours community service isn’t enough deterrent for a teenager then 5 years in jail and a lifelong label of “sex offender” won’t deter them. I recall seeing a picture of a classmate topless (under 18) and over 20 years later it finally dawned on me that it was child pornography.
If we prosecuted every offender to the full extent of the law then like half of every high school class would be in jail. Not to say that something should be legal as long as enough people are breaking the law but if millions of kids are violating some of the strictest laws in the country we’re probably not getting the full picture.