Lawsuit Featuring Private Photos Publicized With Personal Information

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marble

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I am a 22 year old female. A 17 year old, which is the legal age of consent in NY, male has nude photos of myself which I sent him and all my personal information and has posted them freely on the internet to "troll" me. He has twice made websites, claiming to be me posting all of the information he has on me (address, home address, phone number) on a forum website where anybody can access my information. The first instance, which I dealt with immediately, was Saturday, November 7th. I received harassing phone calls from unknown numbers stating that they would rape and murder me. I was able to get the hosting company to take down the site and get photobucket to take down all the pictures. He, being 17, lied to make the website which requires its users to be 18 to register. He also even paid to make and host the site. I was understandably shaken but thought it was all over.

This evening, when googling my name, I saw that he had again put the site up through the same webhosting company based out of Korea (co.cc) and hosted the pictures through a different site (imageventure.com). I was able to get the website taken down, though saving a pdf for proof.

Also, I am worried that if he has the ability, he will again post my information all over the site to inflame the site users and I will deal with more retribution, especially if I take legal action against him. I am less worried about people seeing me naked, but more for future job prospects, etc. I never expected it to come to this and was shocked and very hurt he went to this level of obsession over me.

My question is, do I have legal recourse? He has done this twice now, and the only way I know to stop it is to retain a lawyer. I understand my decisions were misguided, but were not legally wrong. He is posing as me, lying, and using this information for malicious intent. I consulted the police in the town that he lives and they instructed me to get a lawyer. Is this the right thing to do? Are there any female lawyers who specialize in this kind of thing in the New York City area?
 
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You may have another problem.... providing nude pictures of yourself to a minor was most likely a misdemeanor offense.

A simple option for you to try is a restraining/cease desist order from the court... if you cite the threatening phone calls and his malicious intent then you might be able to get something to compel him to knock it off... and any continued action by him would be a misdemeanor for violating the order.

Anyway- the more you have contact with him the more he will likely keep it up. If you are getting harassing phone calls, you can change your number. You can continue to contact websites and have them remove content, and maybe even block his IP.

The problem is that you gave him the pictures and he can then do whatever he wants with them.... you have a civil problem that the police aren't likely to help with... but if you talk with them and get an officer that is cooperative enough, they might make a visit to talk to him and his parents.

Shoot... you could even contact his parents directly and threaten legal action. They might take his computers away.

Still... having given the nude pictures to a minor, you might be on the hook for something as well.
 
promocodes said:
If he did it on a site like 4Chan or whatever, you might be in a world of hurt :(.
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Right. I know this, because he originally posted it there, hence my reluctance to go to authorities in case he does it again. It's just sad because I am a 4chan user myself and know how they aim to ruin lives, even when the first party has done almost nothing to deserve it.
 
If you were to retain a lawyer, the recourse would be to sue for libel, which is hard to prove. Providing the pictures to him and admitting such might be a cause for concern as it's a somewhat self-incriminating statement.

Right now you're probably feeling a lot of shame, which you should be. However it's not right for him to be publicizing your pictures like he is. If he lives with his parents, you should first ask him politely to stop. If he doesn't, make contact with his parents, admit your mistake but inform them of what he is doing, and inform them that if he doesn't stop, you're not hesitant to pursue this matter legally. That might be your best bet.
 
I should be feeling shame? I don't need your judgment nor care how YOU THINK I should be feeling. I received unwarranted threatening calls to my personal cell phone. That is harassment. Perhaps instead of giving bad advice to those seeking REAL answers, you should ask yourself of what YOU need to be ashamed.
 
Marble, you're the one who made the mistake in sending the pictures - sometimes it's best to own up to the mistake, it might save yourself a lot of trouble. To be honest, there really is nothing you can do. Welcome to the age of the internet. Laws haven't caught up with technology.

But good luck. Attitude change might not be a bad idea, either.
 
There are things she can do- there is just no guarantee of effectiveness.
Legal options are limited due to the risk of admitting to a misdemeanor.
Personally, I would be dealing with the kid's parents, threatening legal action on them since they are responsible for the kid, and serving the kid with a restraining order.
 
I think MightyMoose has the right idea here. The OP is between a rock and a hard place. Dealing with the voices of reason might be a good idea. I never understand why people send naked pictures of themselves but this is after the fact. Remember that hiring any attorney for a lawsuit for any cause of action, such as intent to cause emotional distress, it's going to cost money. I doubt an attorney will do it on a contingency fee basis.
 
I did see a lawyer and I was correct that since he was above the legal age to HAVE sex, my sending the photos wasn't a crime at all. Like i said, misguided but NOT illegal.

I obtained a PI to get his address and am sitting on it until he does it again. If not, then the best idea is to let it drop and if he does, well, I know where he lives. He has no legal action against me. But he could be served on charges of libel and harrassment.

Thanks to those of you who helped and DIDN'T post judgment. If you want to give advice, I suggest almost all of YOU have an attitude check. I was asking for help and you imposed your moral attitudes on me. I will be sure to never recommend this forum for anyone else seeking some quick legal advice.
 
Was the kid 17 when you provided the photos to him? It sounds like you know very little about him... how do you even know that he is really 17?

I don't think you would get far with accusations of libel and harassment. If all he did was provide your photo and information, which you willingly gave him, you won't have much of an argument to make. The harassment is coming from the people calling you, which he is not. You don't really have a case of libel unless there are a lot more details that you left out.

Bringing a suit against him might get him to knock it off and scare him a bit... but probably wouldn't be very successful if pushed the whole way through.

Still, your best bet is to lay low and not interact with him. If you find more websites you will have to contact the operators of those sites and make your demands.

I'm sure it is very frustrating, but he may be in the same position as you... misguided bot not necessarily illegal.
 
I did see a lawyer and I was correct that since he was above the legal age to HAVE sex, my sending the photos wasn't a crime at all. Like i said, misguided but NOT illegal.
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Although in the State of New York, the age of consent is seventeen, there is something called the "Age of Majority" (website reference below) meaning at what point a person in that state is LEGALLY considered an "adult" which means the seventeen year old is considered a juvenile.

I REALLY doubt he broke any laws when posting the images of you as well as your information, as most of your information he could say is already in the "public domain" by searching your name, city and state on a website like zabasearch.com.

What you're experiencing right now is called a "lesson learned" experience. Next time you'll think first before doing something dumb, eh? Also, if you send naked pictures of yourself to a juvenile, you should be prepared to be judged.

http://minors.uslegal.com/age-of-majority/new-york-age-of-majority-law/
 
After her last post I dug up the NY statute. It specifically says minors under 17... so it does look like she is in the clear for any misdemeanors. That certainly varies by jurisdiction. I think most are less tolerant.

She doesn't have much for a case though... it is more about damage control.
 
I have to ask.

You wouldn't lend a 17 year old kid your car... especially one you met over the internet.

Why would you send nude photos?

Anyway, I agree with the above. Mom and Dad are the way to go.

Of course, that means that you probably aren't going to be welcomed with open arms.
 
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