Teen boy may face 2 years in jail for staging oral sex with Jesus statue
A 14-year-old from Pennsylvania may face two years in jail for allegedly taking a photo of himself staging oral sex with a Jesus statue.
The photo, which the boy also allegedly posted to Facebook, was taken at Love in the Name of Christ, a Christian organization in Everett, Pennsylvania, the boy's hometown. The teen, whose name has been withheld by police, was charged this week with "desecration of a venerated object," The Smoking Gun reports. According to the police record for the act, the misdemeanor charges against the boy were filed in Juvenile Court on Tuesday.
If convicted, the teen could face two years in a juvenile jail. However, The Associated Press reports that the boy was charged under "a rarely used 1972 law that makes it a crime to desecrate a venerated object," which some have argued doesn't apply to the case because the boy did not deface or damage the statue.
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A Love in the Name of Christ spokesperson told Raw Story that the organization didn't ask the police to press charges against the teen. "We have asked for prayer for this young man. And Love Inc. did not press charges against him," the spokesperson told Raw Story. "It's really sad. It's just sad."
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Meghan DeMaria is a staff writer at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked for USA Today and Marie Claire.
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