Trouble with facebook

[ikcdab]

my son has been stupid.
He had a naked picture of a friend of his which he sent in a private message to a third party with out their permission.
The person who has received the picture has gone to the police and made a statement.
How much trouble is my son in? It wasnt a publc posting - it was in a private message, but it was done without permisison.
Help!

[Amethyst]

Oh dear. How old is your son and his friend? Is his friend aware of what's happened ?

Have you been contacted by the police as yet?

creating or sharing explicit images of a child is illegal, even if the person doing it is a child. A young person is breaking the law if they:

• • take an explicit photo or video of themselves or a friend
  • share an explicit image or video of a child, even if it’s shared between children of the same age
  • possess, download or store an explicit image or video of a child, even if the child gave their permission for it to be created.

as of January 2016 in England and Wales, if a young person is found creating or sharing images, the police can choose to record that a crime has been committed but that taking formal action isn't in the public interest.

Crimes recorded this way are unlikely to appear on future records or checks, unless the young person has been involved in other similar activities which may indicate that they're a risk. Find out more about legislation on child abuse images.

[ikcdab]

all 18 and over.
Had no contact as yet

[Amethyst]

Okay, that's removes a bit of an issue then at least. The person the image was sent to was over 18 too ?

You'd be looking more at things like harassment, blackmail?, revenge porn etc depending on context ---- if your sons friend gave permission for it to be shared with the third party, and it was the third party who did not wish to receive the image, then likely harrassment.

[ikcdab]

Yes all over 18. It's a single naked image but not done with permission.
he used a fake Facebook account and his friends don't know it was him.

[ikcdab]

Would the police think it's worth following up and if so how difficult to track him down via a fake Facebook account?

[jaguarsuk]

Would the police think it's worth following up and if so how difficult to track him down via a fake Facebook account?

The Police would have to contact Facebook whom at a very basic level must IP Log, now the question is whether this was done over WiFi or by phone data?

I assume this is some sort of prank gone wrong?

[ikcdab]

Yes prank gone wrong. Over Wi-Fi

[jaguarsuk]

Yes prank gone wrong. Over Wi-Fi

Okay your IP Address at home will be static and via your internet service provider the police will be able to trace that to your home.

Lets call them:

A - Friend who is in the pic
B - Friend who he sent the pic

What I don't understand is if B got a pic of A naked, how can A not know about it as surely B had told A?

[ikcdab]

Okay your IP Address at home will be static and via your internet service provider the police will be able to trace that to your home.

Lets call them:

A - Friend who is in the pic
B - Friend who he sent the pic

What I don't understand is if B got a pic of A naked, how can A not know about it as surely B had told A?

OK, so it seems complicated but there are three people involved.
A is the subject of the picture
B is the unwitting recipient
C is the sender, my son.

My son got hold of the picture of A some time ago, and i think they had forgotten about it. Later finds it and thinks its a prank to send it on from a fake facebook account to B. A and B dont know its my son who is involved who is now worried and upset about what he did.

B has gone to the police to complain and made a statement.

Its a single image, meant as a prank, not meant to huimilate of anything.
How likely are the police to go to the trouble of contacting FB etc to track my son down?

[Amethyst]

Was A over 16 in the picture ? over 18 ?

18 seems to be the important age for indecent images

[ikcdab]

Yes everybody is and was over 18

[Amethyst]

Okay, it was just the 'some time ago' bit made me ask.

So potentially harrassment against the person he sent it to. It really depends if it has actually been reported and what the complaint has been whether action would be taken.

And possibly https://publications.parliament.uk/p...50049_en_5.htm ( see 33/34/35 ) - intent applies

[Amethyst]

To note on the 'intent' part

(8) A person charged with an offence under this section is not to be taken to have
disclosed a photograph or film with the intention of causing distress merely
because that was a natural and probable consequence of the disclosure.

Personally I think some apologies need making and some attempt at repairing relationships. He really doesn't want this just eating away at him worrying about being found out by either his friends, or the police. Be open, be honest and hopefully he'll be able to move on and put this behind him.

[ikcdab]

To note on the 'intent' part


Personally I think some apologies need making and some attempt at repairing relationships. He really doesn't want this just eating away at him worrying about being found out by either his friends, or the police. Be open, be honest and hopefully he'll be able to move on and put this behind him.

That would be good. But a complaint has been made to the police and a statement taken from the person receiving the image.
i just wonder to what extent the police will want to investigate. I guess they could apply to fb for IP addresses and then the ISP to locate our house. Of course, I want you all to say that the police won't bother, but I also need you to be realistic and they might follow it up even though it is a one off occurance. . I have no previous experience and we are worried.