The investigation began after police in Glanmire, County Cork,
received a complaint about the sexually explicit picture of a
teenager, partly dressed in school clothing. The complaint
suggested that a local girl was the subject but after speaking to
the girl and her parents, the police have definitively ruled this
out.
The investigation under the Irish Child Trafficking and
Pornography Act continues, and police have warned that anyone found
with the image, or involved in its distribution, could face
prosecution and imprisonment.
Global sales of mobile phones that can take, send and receive
digital colour photographs are accelerating, despite
interoperability problems and picture quality limitations.
Notwithstanding the picture quality, the legal implications
arising from the abuse of the technology are becoming obvious. Due
to their size and ease of use, camera phones can go unnoticed in
places where conventional cameras are not allowed, such as locker
rooms, courtrooms or art museums.
At the same time, indiscreet photographs taken by such phones,
without the subject's knowledge or consent, have started appearing
on various web sites or, as in this case, circulating from phone to
phone.
