Tennessee Sexting Laws For Teens and Minors

Tennessee law prohibits sexting by and with teens and minors. Punishment for a conviction varies depending on the age of the offender and victim, as well as the severity of the conduct involved. Read on to learn more about sexting laws in Tennessee.

What Is Sexting?

Sexting refers to the taking, sending, receiving, or sharing of nude or sexually explicit photos or videos by electronic means, such as text messages, social media posts, or emails. Especially common among teenagers, sexting can easily be used to bully or harass others.

Is Sexting a Crime in Tennessee?

Sexting between consenting adults (including teens age 18 and 19) is legal, as long as the images aren't of minors. Tennessee prohibits sexting by teens younger than 18, but the law offers some teens a chance to avoid a felony conviction by giving prosecutors discretion to file a charge less severe than a felony, if the circumstances warrant it. Adults who sext with minors can face serious charges and substantial penalties. Convictions of these sexting-related crimes can result in hefty fines and significant incarceration time.

Tennessee's Law on Teen Sexting

Sexting crimes that involve teens and minors fall under Tennessee's laws that prohibit:

• illegal use of a telecommunications device
• sexual exploitation of a minor by electronic means, and
• possessing sexual images of a minor (child pornography).

Penalties for these offenses vary depending on the age of the offender and the conduct involved.

What Are the Penalties for Teen Sexting in Tennessee?

Teens younger than 18 who sext commit the offense of "illegal use of a telecommunication device."

Illegal Use of a Telecommunication Device

A minor commits this offense by intentionally or knowingly using a telecommunication device (such as smartphone, tablet, or computer) to send, publish, or share a photograph, video, or other material that contains a sexually explicit image of a minor or an image of sexual activity involving a minor. It's also an offense to intentionally possess such material (including a selfie).

Tennessee law defines a sexually explicit image as one that's a lewd or lascivious visual depiction of a minor's genital, pubic area, breast or buttocks, or a sexual depiction of nudity. Sexual activity includes vaginal, anal, or oral intercourse, masturbation, physical contact with a person's genitals, pubic area, buttocks or breast (even over clothing) as part of a sexual act, and the lewd showing of the genitals, buttocks, pubic areas, or female breast.

Penalties for Minors

Illegal use of a telecommunication device constitutes an unruly act (something that only applies to minors, like breaking curfew). Unruly acts are prosecuted in juvenile court, where judges generally have more flexibility in meting out sentences.

Defense for Unsolicited Sexts

It is a defense to this offense if a minor receives an unsolicited sext and deletes it or reports it to a parent, guardian, school official, or law enforcement.

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

Tennessee law also makes it a crime for adults (including 18- and 19-year-olds) to sext with a minor. These crimes generally fall under Tennessee's laws prohibiting sexual exploitation of a minor.

Sexual Exploitation of a Minor by Electronic Means

An adult defendant commits a felony when they use electronic means to:

• send sexts to a minor (showing the defendant engaged in sexual activity), or
• convince a minor to sext images to the defendant (showing the minor engaged in sexual activity).

The exact penalties depend on the conduct.

Sexting images to a minor. An offender who sexts images of sexual activity (even simulated) to a minor younger than 13 is guilty of a class C felony. Such a conviction carries 3 to 15 years' imprisonment and a $10,000 fine. If the minor is 13 or older, the unlawful conduct constitutes a class E felony, punishable by one to six years in prison and a $3,000 fine. The law provides a defense if the victim is 15 or older and the defendant is no more than 4 years older than the victim.

Convincing a minor to sext. A defendant commits a class B felony when they intentionally convince a minor to engage in sexual activity and sext the defendant those images. A guilty defendant faces 8 to 30 years of incarceration and a $25,000 fine.

Sexual Exploitation of a Minor: Possessing Sexual Images of a Minor

Sexual exploitation of a minor makes it illegal for a person to possess images of a minor (younger than 18) engaged in real or simulated sexual activity (child pornography). Sexual activity includes vaginal, anal, or oral intercourse, masturbation, physical contact with a person's genitals, pubic area, buttocks or breast (even over clothing) as part of a sexual act, and the lewd showing of the genitals, buttocks, pubic areas, or female breast.

Penalties vary depending on the conduct involved and range from a class B to D felony. If the defendant shares the image or created the image, additional felony charges may apply.

Do Teens in Tennessee Go to Adult or Juvenile Court for Sexting Charges?

Juveniles who commit crimes when they are younger than 18 fall under the jurisdiction of Tennessee's juvenile justice system. Older teens (18- and 19-year-olds) go to adult court and face adult penalties. Because illegal use of a telecommunication device only applies to minors, those cases would only be heard in juvenile court.

Juvenile court judges generally have more discretion than adult court judges in sentencing, as the juvenile justice system focuses more on rehabilitation rather than punishment. Within the juvenile system, sentencing options may include counseling, community service, treatment, monitoring, curfews, educational programs, or, in more egregious cases, detention in a juvenile facility. In juvenile court, the minor receives an adjudication of delinquency rather than a criminal conviction.

Can Sexting Result in Sex Offender Registration in Tennessee?

Tennessee's Sex Offender Registration laws can apply to both adults convicted and juveniles adjudicated delinquent of certain sexting related crimes, including sexual exploitation of a minor. The juvenile registration law applies only to juveniles who are classified as violent juvenile sexual offenders. Most minors adjudicated delinquent for sexting crimes will not be required to register as sex offenders.

Registration generally lasts at least 10 years. Failure to register constitutes a Class E felony, which carries up to 6 years' imprisonment and a $3,000 fine.

Talk to a Lawyer

Sexting convictions can incur serious fines and substantial incarceration time for a guilty defendant in Tennessee. Anyone charged with a sexting crime should contact a local criminal defense attorney or ask for a public defender, regardless of whether the case is in juvenile or adult court. A qualified lawyer can give you sound legal advice, defend your rights, and help you understand what the stakes are in your case.

(Tenn. Code §§ 1-3-105, 37-1-102, 37-1-103, 37-1-148, 39-13-529, 39-17-901, 39-17-911, 39-17-1002, 39-17-1003, 40-35-111, 40-39-202, 40-39-203 (2025).)