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Liability Advice

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by ramtech1

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Hey all, I know of a minor (16) who is getting involved with cyber-sex via MSN chat. He talks with other kids some of which are younger than him, most are supposedly out-of-state and some are out-of-country. Nude pictures (not of the people involved) have been sent back and forth. What would the parents and the minor's liabilities be?

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by oz_media

couple of years ago, my neice went to meet her online beau (21 yr old male) turned out to be a 35 year old man who convinced her to go to te states with him. She was heard of once in a rather distressing call but never since. The police wouldn't do anything as she had just turned 18.

My point is, I will promise you that the photos are not real or at least of the people he THINKS he's takling to. The personalities and people are also probably fake too. They could be pedophiles, old lonely men posing as 17 years old girls etc. The Internet (chat rooms specifically)and people on it are not credible, people are who they want to be and not who they are. I think this kid is either in for a BIG letdown, when 15 year old Buffy with the perky breasts turns out to be John the plumber. It sounds funny but is almost ALWAYS the case.

Legally, when minors are involved peolpe will take action, not against the person who stood naked in front of the web cam but the one who received the images. Bottom line, this MAY be seen as child pornography, it is probably a fake personality by someone else though. THey do this to try and get little kids to send them pictures of themselves, many of which will be found on their kiddie porn websites.

If i was you and had ANY say or influence in the matter, I'd put a stop to it NOW, end of story.

I was telling another peer about some guys who were on a talk show to meet the love of their lives that they had met on the internet, several men were there with ring in hand and ready to propose to this BABE that they had become so close to (thousands in long distance charges for offline talk)one guy had lost his wife, his job and his home due to his obsession over the woman.

One by one they came out ready to propose to the goddess of the internet, on one knee and ring in hand they waited to meet the mystery woman. Much to their surprise, it was a 6'6" 240lb+ black man with a sexy voice.

Remember, some of these guys had lost theri lives over this. It just isn't worth finding out, true or not.

by ramtech1

I agree, in fact what I am really worried about is that it is actually some cop on the other end trying to do a sting against the kid. The photos were not of himself there were nudes downloaded from the internet. I intend to install a firewall and kill the messenger service on the box tonight but I am still worried about legal issues in regards to what has been done already.

by oz_media

If it stops and hasn't gone too far, don't be concerned. Cyber police will be targeting the illegitimate pedophiles posing as 17 year old girls. Kids know all this but ignore it, sometimes until it's too late. Put your foot down HARD, stop it now and don't let him use IM, you are jeopardizing your own security and files by using IM anyway.

Good luck, but I wouldn't worry about the law at this point.

by thechas

For a 16 year old, many prosecutors will limit themselves to the youth.
Unless, there is evidence that the parents either knew about, or assisted in the activities.

However, if a prosecutor feels the need to get extra publicity, they may go after the parents too.

Bottom line, the parents need to talk with a lawyer and take the PC away from the youth.

It sounds like you are a friend or acquaintance of one of the parties.
Ask yourself, would you want to know if your son was involved in potentially criminal activity?

Keep in mind, that many police agencies are active in chat rooms so that they can find and capture sexual predators.
There is a good chance that this person is already under surveillance.

As a final thought, in order to protect our rights to use the Internet freely, we have the responsibility to stop anyone who is performing illegal activities on-line.

Chas

by ramtech1

Thanks for the remarks, the problem should be gone. XP Pro platform,messenger service stopped, IE removed, Outlook Express removed, Symantec Firewall installed with the most stringent rules applied, user profile applied with limited access. I think I covered all of the bases.

by oz_media

Sounds like you have a good hold now, removing IE , email and Messenger you have pretty much done all but pull the plug.

I'm sure you won't see any repercussions, based on the info provided. Perhaps when he grows up a bit.

by duke of earle

Working in a school district that uses firewalls, packet shapers, filtering and more, I'm always amazed at what the kid try and get away with. The best tool is to personally monitor. Not every minute but let them know you will be checking history files, logs, pictures and even over their shoulder from time to time, at any given time. Put remote control software on the PC (if you have another PC also connected) and remote view the screen. It is your responsibility and even more, liability.

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