Schools
West Springfield Teens Plead No Contest to 'Unlawful Filming' in Child Pornography Case
Two of the boys accepted plea bargain deals. A third boy is scheduled to be sentenced June 12. The teenagers were originally charged with possession and distribution of child pornography.
UPDATE Thursday 5:30 p.m.: Two of the teens, in plea bargain deals, pleaded no contest today to "unlawful filming," in juvenile court Thursday, according to a news report by WJLA.
A third teen, the TV station reported, who was fighting all charges, went through with a trial and was convicted of two counts of unlawful filming and found not guilty on the child porn charges and not guilty on a third charge of unlawful filming.
Juvenile Court Judge Thomas Mann cleared the public from the room when the sex tapes were played in court, according to MyFoxDC.com. The two teens who have pleaded out testified that the consensual sex took place at the boys’ homes and in a parking lot.
The third teen is scheduled to be sentenced June 12, according to WJLA.
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Girls involved in the incidents were at the trial and at least one testified.
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The three teenage boys from West Springfield High School charged with possession and distribution of child pornography are scheduled to stand trial in court today, according to the Washington Post.
The teens, one 15-year-old and two 16-year-olds, were arrested Jan. 11 at the school by Fairfax County police after a tip to a school security officer in November led to an investigation.
The boys allegedly took cellphone video of themselves performing sexual acts with six girls from West Springfield and other Burke area schools. In February, the lawyers for the boys told the Post their clients have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The Post article further states a lawyer for one of the boys, Rodney Leffler, said the sexual acts on the 10 videos were consensual. The videos were filmed at parties at the teenagers' homes in December 2011. The boys, Leffler's reported as saying, only distributed the videos among themselves.
The boys could face 20 years in prison and be required to register as sex offenders, if convicted.
Related Stories:
West Springfield High Students Arrested on Child Porn Charges
Report: West Springfield Students Pleading 'Not Guilty' to Child Porn Charges
Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct the pleas entered by the teens in court. They pleaded no contest to unlawful filming. They did not plead guilty.
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