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View Full Version : If I am being sexually harassed at high school,could I be the one charged w/ a crime?



janeygirl980
12-04-2008, 07:47 PM
About 9 months ago, I (17 at the time, a girl) sent a boy I was seeing, a 16 year old, a nude picture of myself. Essentially, it was a very negative relationship, and I've moved on, but he's become increasingly vindictive towards me in recent months, and a few days ago, he starting posting images of me on a forum popular with people at my high school, including the afore mentioned nude picture, along with sexual comments about me.

It's not so much that I'm afraid the picture will eventually come back to haunt me (there is no way anyone can identify me from the picture, things get lost in the internet, etc.), as well as the fact that I don't make a habit of sending nude pictures of myself to people.

It's more the maliciousness of the act, especially since he knew I'd see what he did, because I read that forum often. Although the nude image was quickly deleted by the moderators, the sexual comments and other pictures of my face are still there, and I can't seem to get them taken down, as of yet. When I've confronted him about it, all he had to say was "I thought it was really entertaining," and hung up on me.

Which brings me to what I really want to ask:

I would like to talk to the administration at our high school about this incident, because his harassment has been escalating, and making me feel increasingly unsafe at school. But I'm afraid to, because I'm aware that in some states, I could be charged with distributing child pornography just by virtue of the fact that I took a nude picture of myself and sent it to him, even though we're both under 18. I had no idea that these laws existed until now.

[Administrator's note: reference to url deleted per forum policy]

This whole situation is making me sick, I have no idea if my fears are irrational, I feel completely nauseated that he's doing this to me, but I'm afraid to ask anyone at school who might be able to do something about his harassment for help, because I'm convinced that I'll be the one to get in trouble. Is this a legitimate fear?

Mike Bradley
12-09-2008, 03:00 PM
Dear "Janey"
First, I am aware of only a few situations where a girl has been prosecuted for these acts, and to my limited knowledge these were very different situations from yours. If you know someone who is an attorney in your state, she/he could tell you more about that risk.
I do think that you should start by talking about how to proceed with your counselor at school or with a local organization that helps abused women (and, yes, you are one). Please know that, apart from the embarrassment, these pictures may indeed cause you serious problems in applying to colleges, jobs or even the military, since all of those organizations often research candidates on the Net. So do take action ASAP.
I'm so sorry that you learned this lesson too late. I'm hoping that other girls might read your post here and perhaps learn to not make the mistake that you did. Please never again send anyone anything that you don't want to see on the cover of tomorrow's newspaper. As you found out, what seems like a "fun" idea at 17 can become a disaster at 27. If you take appropriate action now, you likely won't have those surprises later in life.
Take care.