Boston Police Union Lawyer: 16-Year-Old Girls Have All Seen Penises on the Internet

The lawyer for a Boston Police officer accused of sending sexual images to a 16-year-old girl says the alleged victim shouldn’t have been shocked, as girls her age have all seen photos of penises on the Internet.

Sgt. Edwin Guzman appeared in Quincy District Court on Friday after he was arraigned in 2014 on two counts of dissemination of harmful material to a minor and annoying and accosting behavior—the same year he received the department’s Medal of Honor.

After receiving a new court date, Guzman’s lawyer, Kenneth Anderson of the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association (BPPA) said that even if the alleged victim, a family friend, had received lewd images, they shouldn’t have been all that shocking.

“You can’t tell me someone her age has never seen a picture of a penis on the Internet,” Anderson said, according to the Herald.

As noted by the Dig, Anderson and his law firm, Byrne and Anderson, handle training for BPPA members, covering legal rights, due process, and “firearms discharges,” according to a January/February issue of the union’s controversial newsletter.

The BPPA has made $3,000 in campaign contributions to Mayor Marty Walsh since 2002, and $500 each to Gov. Charlie Baker and Attorney General Maura Healey in 2015, according to Office of Campaign and Political Finance records.