A group of ten Florida Keys teens were charged yesterday after the group allegedly made an amateur porno featuring a 16-year-old runaway girl, police said.
Police confiscated the video, which authorities say shows 19-year-old Derek Williams having sex with the 16-year-old while another man directs. Seven other teens were also charged with making child pornography for watching the taping and making comments about "making a porn," police said.
"This is not some minor kid's thing," Monroe County Sheriff Bob Peryam told the Miami Herald. "While it may seem like innocent fun to some, it's a horrible situation. These are felony offenses that can follow these teenagers for the rest of their lives."
The taping took place March 22, when the group, which included seven boys and three girls age 13 to 19, gathered at the Key Largo apartment one of the teens' parent's house.
A 14-year-old runaway blew the whistle on the underage porn when she told a school official that she was worried that her 16-year-old friend had been raped.
Police found the tape which showed the 16-year-old mostly cooperating, though the police report noted that she said ''no'' and pulled away at times.
The tape also showed all the participants, except the camera operator, encouraging the girl to perform sex acts, including a 14-year-old girl who yells: "We are trying to make a porno; you cannot hesitate."
Local
"We don't know what the intent was," Peryam told the Herald. "But bottom line is it's a crime for people that age to photograph and videotape themselves having sex. Then it becomes child pornography."
The four adults are being held and will be charged with felonies. The minors will have a detention hearing Friday at Plantation Key Courthouse.
"It's crazy stuff," Peryam said. "I guess it's today's technology with today's society."
