Today in TechAccidental text message lands a swimming coach behind bars
We've all sent a text message to the wrong person at some point in our lives. Sometimes, it can be very embarrassing. But when 24-year-old swimming coach Craig Evans accidentally sent a sexually explicit message to his entire BlackBerry address book — including some underaged girls he taught — he wasn't just shamed, he was jailed.
It was the ultimate texting faux pas. Evans, as it turns out, was trying to entice his girlfriend via text message, asking if she was interested in "skin on skin" sex. That's not a crime, but sending that same text to 13- and 14-year-old girls is. He was arrested in the U.K. for the criminal mass text on charges of "causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activities," and ultimately sentenced to 18 months in jail.
If you think that sentence seems harsh for an unwitting mistake, it turns out that a British judge agrees. Just this week, Lord Justice Elias ruled that "Messages... were sent to every single contact in his phone, including members of his own family. The fact that they were repeated shows that he was evidently misguided in the use of his BlackBerry. It is difficult to conclude that he was targeting anyone."
Due to the unintentional nature of Evans' crime, the presiding judge reduced Evans' sentence and set him free. A blessing, sure, but remember — he now has to go home to live with his family, each member of which he propositioned for "skin on skin" sex. In that light, jail is starting to sound pretty good all of a sudden.
[via Gizmodo]
This article was written by Fox Van Allen and originally appeared on Tecca
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