US teenager may be forced to produce 'pictures of his erect penis' as part of 'sexting' case

Critics have called prosecutor’s demands 'child abuse'

A 17-year-old boy in the US could be forced to have an erection to enable prosecutors bringing a “sexting” case against him to compare his penis with one in a sexually explicit video, his lawyers reportedly claim.

The youth, from Manassas City, Virginia, is alleged to have sent the video to his 15-year-old girlfriend after she sent photographs to him.

The boy faces charges of manufacturing child sex abuse and possession of child sex abuse and, in addition to a prison sentence, could spend the rest of his life on the sex offenders’ database.

His lawyer, Jessica Harbeson Foster, said she was told by a prosecutor that the youth would have to plead guilty or police would seek a search warrant “for pictures of his erect penis” to compare it with the video, according to the Washington Post. When she asked how this would be achieved, she said she was told “we just take him down to the hospital, give him a shot and then take the pictures that we need.”

Ms Foster said her client “goes to school every day, plays football, has never been in trouble with the law before”.

“Now he’s saddled with two felonies and the implication that he’s a sexual predator,” she said.

“My goal is to stop the search warrant. I don’t want him to go through that. Taking him down to the hospital so he can get an erection in front of all those cops, that’s traumatizing.”

The prosecution began after the girl’s mother made a complaint about the video and the 17-year-old eventually arrested.

He was taken to a jail for juveniles, where Ms Foster said officials took photographs of his genitals without his consent.

Carlos Flores Laboy, a guardian appointed for the youth by the court, said he was horrified by the prosecutor’s suggestion.

“As a parent myself, I was floored. It’s child abuse,” he said.