17-year-old Levar Allen, a standout student and award-winning three-sport high school athlete in Bossier City, Louisiana, was recently arrested. His crime? A 16-year-old schoolmate texted Levar a nude video. When Levar replied with one of his own, her parents discovered the video and called the police. Now, Levar faces charges of child pornography. The other student -- who sent him a video first -- walks free. This is because of a ridiculous law on the Louisiana books which states that because he’s 17, even though he’s in high school and the 16-year-old “sexter” is his classmate, he alone can be charged with this felony. We can’t stand by and watch Levar Allen’s life get ruined for this. He has never been in trouble with the law. He is beloved at his school and in his community. While sharing explicit pictures is a behavior we want to teach our teenagers not to do, it shouldn’t be treated as a criminal matter, especially considering how widespread it has become: a recent study found that 54% of kids under the age of 18 have engaged in sexting. Treating these kids as criminals will only make things worse. Levar’s mother believes that race is a factor in how heavily he has been charged. He is black, while the girl he was sexting with is white. The law is rarely used, and many kids are let off with a slap on the wrist. Instead, the police opted to go after Levar and charge him to the fullest extent of the law. Now, this young man faces the prospect of having a criminal record, and his mother has to scrape together the funds -- $4,000 already -- to defend him. Please don’t let Levar pay the price for this outrageous law, which lacks all nuance and punishes kids for being kids. Please call on prosecutors in this case to drop all charges against Levar, so he may be freed immediately. Furthermore, let’s ask the Louisiana legislature to change this antiquated law to better reflect the realities of today’s youth culture.