A TEENAGER is facing child pornography charges after posting nude photos of herself on her MySpace page.
The 14-year-old girl from New Jersey was arrested after uploading 30 explicit images to the social network, according to US media reports.

She posted her photos “because she wanted her boyfriend to see them”, a police spokesman said.

Authorities arrested her after receiving an online tip-off about the images, which could have been viewed by anyone who “friended” her on MySpace.

MySpace has not commented on the incident, but has a team which reviews content uploaded to the social network.

The New Jersey case is the latest in a series of legal wrangles surrounding teenagers’ use of mobiles and the internet.

In a separate case, three teenage girls are suing a US prosecutor who accused them of peddling “child pornography” after semi-nude pictures of them were sent by phone to friends.

Teachers alerted the authorities after discovering a waist-up image of two girls covered just by a bra and another image of a girl topless.

District Attorney George Skumanik called for the girls to undergo five weeks of behaviour courses and take a drug test or face prosecution, according to a letter apparently sent to the teenagers’ parents.

The American Civil Liberties Union, a co-signatory to the lawsuit, said Mr Skumanik’s threat was unconstitutional, and prosecution could have landed the girls on the sex offenders’ register, harming future job prospects.

“In many states these charges would land these kids on (sex offender) databases … for 10 years or more, and prevent them from getting many types of jobs,” said Witold Walczak, from the ACLU in Pennsylvania.

“That’s a heck of a lesson for a kid who probably doesn’t even realise she is doing something wrong.”

The New Jersey girl faces up to 17 years in jail if convicted of possession and distribution of child pornography. She could also be placed on a state register of sex offenders.

The girl has been released into her mother’s custody, and NorthJersey.com reported there may be more arrests on the way. “We consider this case a wake-up call to parents,” police said.