Court: Sex with 17-year-old may be legal, but pictures aren’t

SPRINGFIELD — Although a man who was 32 wasn’t breaking the law by having sex with a 17-year-old girl in 2008, he was by photographing the act, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

Marshall Hollins was convicted in Stephenson County of making child pornography and sentenced to 8 years in prison. He admitted he had sex with the girl when she was 17, which is the age of sexual consent in Illinois.

In a 5-2 ruling, the high court said that although the law allows 17-year-olds to consent to sex, they are still minors, making photos or video of such sex child porn. The consequences of sexual activity are apparent to teens, but the consequences of being in pornography aren’t, the court found.

“These concerns are exacerbated in the modern digital age, where once a picture or video is uploaded to the Internet, it can never be completely erased or eradicated,” the court wrote. “It will always be out there, hanging over the head of the person depicted performing the sexual act.”

The two dissenting justices said that since the photos don’t show an illegal act, they shouldn’t be illegal.

Attorney Kathleen Hamill of the Office of the State Appellate Defender represented Hollins. She said the office hasn’t decided whether to challenge the ruling.

The Illinois Legislature changed the age of consent for pornography from 16 to 18 in 1985, she said. “This apparently is the first case that has arisen challenging that,” Hamill said.