Legal Question in Sexual Harassment in Pennsylvania

Re: Sending of a Naked picture

You asked about distributing a picture of an underage female.

The laws are pretty clear that even possession of the picture is punishable. There have been prosecutions of transfer of images between boyfriend and girlfriend without further distribution (both persons were charged).

The publication of a lewd image of an underage person is a crime (the statutory description is lengthy, but in PA applies to the image described). The female is, by law, underage. As to whether the image is such that it is punishable is slightly less clear, but does anyone want to hazard being labeled a sex offender?

It was probably a crime to retain the image once it was realized that the image was prurient and of an underage person. It is definitely a crime to publish the photos further.

I don't think a single photo is as damning as many of these types of cases (which often involve as few as three photos). But again, this isn't an area of law to play around with. See this case with very similar situation. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS v. ERNEST J. NORMAND . There are also strikingly similar prosecutions in PA.

You should immediately seek the advice of a lawyer on how to correct this situation and how to proceed.

Regards,

Roger