Pennsylvania Sexting Laws for Teens and Minors

Pennsylvania is one of the few states that has specifically addressed teen sexting by creating lower-level penalties that apply to certain teenage behavior. But these teens can still face felony penalties if their conduct is especially harmful. Adult teens (age 18 and 19) who sext with minors may also face harsh penalties.

What Is Sexting?

Sending nude, sexual, or otherwise explicit images via smartphone, through internet messaging, or by similar means is commonly known as sexting. Especially common among teenagers, sexting can easily be used to bully or harass others.

Is Sexting a Crime in Pennsylvania?

Sexting between consenting adults (including teens age 18 and 19) is legal, as long as the images aren't of minors.

Adults who sext images of minors or sext with a minor can face serious felony charges for child sexual abuse or disseminating obscene materials to minors. Teen sexting (by those younger than 18) is also prohibited but carries misdemeanor penalties.

Pennsylvania’s Teen Sexting Law

Pennsylvania has a specific teen sexting law. This law prohibits sexting of "sexually explicit images" by minors younger than 18. Sexually explicit images include only those involving nudity or depicting a minor's genitals, pubic area, breasts, or buttocks in a sexual manner. (Sexting images showing sexual conduct or intercourse fall outside this statute.)

Minors whose actions fall under the teen sexting law face misdemeanor penalties, rather than the harsher felony penalties under Pennsylvania’s child sexual abuse and obscenity laws.

(18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 6321 (2025).)

What Are the Penalties for Teen Sexting in Pennsylvania?

Pennsylvania's teen sexting law imposes summary or misdemeanor penalties based on the conduct involved. Police must also confiscate the minor's cellphone or other electronic device used in the offense.

Sexting Selfies

The law makes it a summary offense for a minor to knowingly send, share, or publish a sexually explicit selfie.

For these low-level offenses, the minor is first referred to a diversion program. A diversion program requires the minor to participate in an educational program that covers the legal and non-legal consequences of sexting. If the minor successfully completes the program, the judge will expunge (dismiss and seal) the charges.

Viewing, Possessing, or Sharing Sexts

It's also a summary offense for a minor to knowingly possess or view a sexually explicit image of another minor age 12 or older. The diversion option noted above would apply here as well for a first offense.

If the minor knowingly sends, shares, or publishes the image, though, the penalty increases to a third-degree misdemeanor.

Sexting to Harass

A minor commits a second-degree misdemeanor when the minor takes or shares a nude image of another minor without permission and to harass, intimidate, or cause emotional distress to the minor depicted in the image. This offense is commonly referred to as revenge porn.

(18 Pa. Cons. Stat. §§ 1101, 1104, 1105, 5702, 6321 (2025).)

What Are the Penalties for Sexting With a Minor in Pennsylvania?

Adults—including teenagers age 18 and 19—who sext with minors or share nude photos of minors can face felony charges under Pennsylvania's child sexual abuse and obscenity laws. Depending on the situation, a minor (younger than 18) can also be charged with these offenses, such as when sexting involves images of minors engaged in sexual acts or when the images depict a child younger than 12.

Receiving a Sext From a Minor

Pennsylvania's child pornography law—called sexual abuse of children—applies when a person intentionally views or knowingly possesses child sexual abuse material. “Child sexual abuse material” includes images and videos of a child younger than 18 engaging in a prohibited sexual act or simulation, including sexual intercourse, oral or anal sex, masturbation, or lewd exhibition of the genitals.

A person who views or solicits a sext from a child younger than 18 would fall under this prohibition.

Sending Sexts to Minors

A person who sends or shares "explicit sexual materials" with a minor younger than 18 commits a felony. Explicit sexual materials include obscene images and images depicting nudity or sexual conduct.

Under this law, an 18-year-old would be committing a felony by sending a nude selfie to a 17-year-old dating partner.

Penalties for Sexting With a Minor

These offenses carry the same penalties. A first violation is a third-degree felony. The penalty for a third-degree felony includes up to seven years in prison and a $15,000 fine. Repeat convictions increase to a second-degree felony. A second-degree felony may be punished by up to 10 years in prison and a $25,000 fine.

(18 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. §§ 1101, 1103, 5903, 6312 (2025).)

Do Teen Sexting Charges Go to Juvenile or Adult Court in Pennsylvania?

Whether a minor ends up in juvenile or adult court depends on the minor's age at the time of the offense and the alleged charges. Most minors who committed their offense between the ages of 10 and 17 fall under the jurisdiction of Pennsylvania's juvenile court. But if the minor was 14 or older and charged with a felony, they can be transferred to adult court. Teens who are 18 or 19 when they commit the offense will go to adult court and face adult penalties.

Juvenile Court

In the juvenile justice process, courts and prosecutors have much broader discretion in determining appropriate sentences. For example, the court may order the juvenile to pay a fine, be supervised on probation, or complete treatment, educational programming, or community service hours. A juvenile who is found guilty of the offense is adjudicated delinquent (and does not receive a "conviction.") As noted above, a first-time summary offense will initially be sent to diversion.

Adult Court

The adult criminal court process does not afford as much flexibility as juvenile court. A felony conviction can mean jail time or a prison sentence, fines, and a criminal record.

(42 Pa. Cons. Stat. §§ 6302, 6355 (2025).)

Will a Teen Sexting Conviction Result in Sex Offender Registration in Pennsylvania?

In Pennsylvania, any individual convicted of a child sexual abuse or obscenity offense when children are involved must register as a sex offender. Juveniles tried and adjudicated delinquent in juvenile court do not have to register.

(42 Pa. Cons. Stat. §§ 9799.12, 9799.14, 9799.15 (2025).)

Talk to a Lawyer

If you or your child faces charges relating to sexting with minors, contact a local criminal defense attorney right away. An experienced lawyer can provide appropriate legal advice, protect your rights, and inform you of the potential consequences of a juvenile adjudication or adult conviction.