Your teenager has been arrested for sending explicit photos to a classmate. The questions flood your mind immediately: What happens now? Can they question my child without me? If your teen has been accused of sexting in Fort Walton Beach, understanding the juvenile legal process can help you make better decisions to protect their future.
When you work with an experienced Okaloosa County teen sex crime defense lawyer, your family receives the guidance you need during this frightening time. The decisions you make in the hours and days following an accusation can significantly impact the outcome.
How Do Teen Sexting Accusations Start?
Many juvenile sex crime cases begin at school. All persons are mandatory reporters of child abuse under Florida law, including teachers and administrators. When school staff suspect sexual abuse or exploitation involving minors, they must report it to the Florida Abuse Hotline, which triggers law enforcement involvement.
Picture this: A 15-year-old girl shows her friend an explicit photo her boyfriend sent her during lunch. A teacher overhears and reports it to the principal, who contacts the School Resource Officer (SRO). By the end of the day, both teens are being questioned, and their parents haven't been notified yet.
Other cases start when parents discover explicit content on their child's device and file a police report. What begins as a parent trying to protect their child can quickly escalate into a criminal investigation affecting both families.
Can Police Question Your Teen Without You Present?
Florida law does not require police to have a parent present when questioning a minor. Officers can, and frequently do, interrogate juveniles without parental notification or consent.
Juveniles have the same Fifth Amendment rights as adults. Before any custodial interrogation, police must provide Miranda warnings. Whether a juvenile's waiver of these rights is valid depends on the totality of circumstances, including the child's age, the setting, the presence or absence of a parent, and the child's experience with law enforcement.
School officials acting on their own authority generally do not need to provide Miranda warnings when questioning students. Tell your teen that if police or school officials ever want to question them about anything serious, they should politely say that they want to speak with their parents and attorney before answering any questions.
What Happens During the Arrest and Processing?
When law enforcement takes your teen into custody, the arresting officer must attempt to notify a parent or guardian and must continue those notification attempts until notification is achieved or the child is delivered to the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ). If the child is delivered to DJJ first, DJJ personnel continue the notification attempts until a parent or guardian is reached.
Detention Risk Assessment Instrument
Your teen will be processed by DJJ through screening that includes the Detention Risk Assessment Instrument (DRAI), an objective tool designed to assess the risk of failure to appear at court proceedings or committing new offenses while the case is pending. The DRAI guides, but does not mandate, detention decisions.
Secure Detention and Fingerprinting
If the assessment indicates secure detention is warranted, your teen will be transported to the Okaloosa Regional Juvenile Detention Center in Crestview. They will remain at the facility until a detention hearing occurs within 24 hours of being taken into custody.
Juveniles charged with felonies are fingerprinted and photographed. Certain other specified offenses also trigger this requirement, but fingerprinting is not mandatory for all juvenile arrests.
What Happens at the Detention Hearing?
At the detention hearing, a judge reviews the DRAI assessment and decides whether your teen remains detained or gets released to you while the case proceeds. The judge considers the specific allegations, your teen's ties to the community, past history with the juvenile system, and whether release poses a risk to community safety or the likelihood your teen will appear at future hearings.
How Does the State Attorney Decide on Charges?
After arrest, the case goes to the State Attorney's Office for a filing decision. For sexting cases, Florida Statute 847.0141 establishes a tiered penalty structure:
- A first offense by a minor is a noncriminal violation resulting in a $60 civil penalty, eight hours of community service, or completion of a cyber-safety program.
- The second violation is a first-degree misdemeanor.
- Third or subsequent violation escalates to a third-degree felony.
Prosecutors maintain discretion to charge other, more serious offenses depending on the facts. These may include child sexual exploitation, transmission of material harmful to minors, or lewd and lascivious conduct. Lewd and lascivious conduct or sexual performance by a child can require sex offender registration, making the specific charges filed critically important.
What Should Parents Do Immediately?
Early intervention by an experienced Fort Walton Beach juvenile defense attorney is absolutely critical. Beyond that, parents can support teens facing sexting charges in several important ways:
- Do not let your teen speak to anyone without an attorney present.
- Do not discuss the case on social media.
- Do not contact the alleged victim or their family.
- Preserve evidence, including phone records, messages, and social media posts that might support your teen's defense.
- Support your teen emotionally. Provide consistent support and consider arranging private counseling.
At Flaherty & Merrifield, we've successfully defended teens accused of sexting and other sex-related offenses throughout Northwest Florida. We understand the juvenile system, the local prosecutors, and how to achieve outcomes that protect your child from lifelong consequences, including sex offender registration.
Your teenager made a mistake. Don't let that mistake define the rest of their life.
