Teenager gets suspended sentence for sharing sexual image on Snapchat

A 15-year-old boy has received a 14-day suspended prison sentence for sharing a manipulated sexual image of a girl on Snapchat, DR reports. The case comes as nearly one in 200 teenage boys in Denmark has been convicted of violating sex laws by the age of 18. Save the Children Denmark says many young people do not understand what the law prohibits.

Noah, whose identity DR has protected, sent the image to a group of boys on Snapchat. It showed a penis placed over the mouth of a girl in eighth grade whom he knew from school. The court heard that Noah was 15 when he shared it.

Police examined his phone and the Snapchat conversation, where the boys had also exchanged messages with aubergine emojis referring to sex. Noah said he acted on the spur of the moment after a dispute involving the girl earlier that day.

“I didn’t really think about it. All the others were doing it too, so I thought I could have a bit of fun as well,” he told DR.

Noah said he did not expect the girl to see the image because he thought it would stay within the group. One of the boys knew her, however, and she was told about it.

Asked how he felt about her seeing the image, Noah said he understood why her mother was angry. “I have a little sister too. If someone had done that to her, I would have gone mad.”

The girl’s mother reported the incident to police. Noah said his parents were told what had happened at the police station, and he remembers that his mother was nearly in tears. At school, he was confronted about sharing the image with other pupils.

After searching online for possible penalties, Noah found information suggesting he could face a fine of 50,000 kroner and several months in prison. “I thought it was really serious. I just froze and didn’t know what to do,” he said.

In court, the prosecutor referred to similar cases and argued that Noah should receive a prison sentence of four weeks. Noah said he panicked when he learned prison was a possibility. His defence lawyer noted that he had admitted what he did and that the image was clearly manipulated.

The judge said manipulated images are punished in the same way as genuine ones. Noah was given 14 days’ suspended imprisonment and must meet a municipal support worker who will help him make sensible choices.

Kåre Pihlmann, head of the National Association of Defence Lawyers, said teenagers are often rarely more than an arm’s length from their phones and are used to taking and sharing pictures. Intimate images may be shared as a prank or in a moment of sexual excitement, he said, but a conviction can have serious consequences, including limiting access to some jobs.

Save the Children Denmark says that young women whose images are shared can suffer damage to their self-esteem and fear how many people have seen them partly or fully undressed. Some lose the confidence to go to school, the organisation says.

A research project is examining why more young people are committing sexual offences online. Kasper Jørgensen, a PhD researcher at Aalborg University who studies sexual offences among children and young people, said image-sharing can be used to show that someone has had sex or to take revenge on a former partner. He also pointed to an increase in more serious online behaviour, including coercion and blackmail.

Jørgensen said changes to sex laws may also contribute to more convictions. Denmark introduced a consent requirement for sexual intercourse in 2021, followed by a law on grooming in 2023.

Save the Children Denmark says young people are often unsure which images they are allowed to possess or share. Mia Lind Winther, a psychologist and the organisation’s expert on digital abuse, said young people often share intimate material without realising they may be breaking the law or considering that the person shown has not consented.

DR attended the district court hearing, where Noah agreed to tell his story.