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Stolen

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Lizzy1011

Junior Member
Utah- my friend stole private pictures from my boyfriends phone and can potentially harm work hirings personal business and so on is there any type of legal action we can take for her doing this without our consent?
 


adjusterjack

Senior Member
No. You can't take any action for something that "might" happen.

And since your boyfriend was foolish enough to leave his phone unattended without password protection, he's as much to blame as your friend.
 

quincy

Senior Member
Utah- my friend stole private pictures from my boyfriends phone and can potentially harm work hirings personal business and so on is there any type of legal action we can take for her doing this without our consent?
How did this friend get access to your boyfriend's phone and the private pictures on it?

Has the friend done anything with the photos (e.g., published them online, mailed them out to another or others)?

The friend possibly could have committed a crime by accessing the phone's contents without consent. A civil action possibly could be considered if the friend publishes the pictures.

More information, please. Thanks.
 

Lizzy1011

Junior Member
More Information

She had asked him to use his phone to call her mom two times during work because her mom wouldn't pick up when she'd call from her phone. And during this time when she walked away out of sight with the phone, she got into his gallery and took the photos. And we are in a group chat on Facebook and she did send them to everyone in the group so people have veiwed them other than just her. Would this count as mailing/ publishing them? I would also like to add I am 17, she's 17 and my boyfriend is 18.
 

quincy

Senior Member
She had asked him to use his phone to call her mom two times during work because her mom wouldn't pick up when she'd call from her phone. And during this time when she walked away out of sight with the phone, she got into his gallery and took the photos. And we are in a group chat on Facebook and she did send them to everyone in the group so people have veiwed them other than just her. Would this count as mailing/ publishing them? I would also like to add I am 17, she's 17 and my boyfriend is 18.
Your friend exceeded the consent that was granted her when she accessed your boyfriend's photo gallery, and it is possible she violated privacy rights by publishing the photos on Facebook. And, yes, sending photos to one person or to many people is considered publishing.

Cell phones, because of their capabilities, are covered under state computer laws. What your friend did was commit a computer crime.

Following is a link to Utah's computer crime laws (click through sections 76-6-702 to 76-6-705).

http://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title76/Chapter6/76-6-S702.html

Depending on the nature of these "private" photos, an invasion of privacy suit might also be supportable.

I hope these private photos are not nude photos. Taking and sending nude photos (regardless of the age of those photographed) is almost always a bad idea.
 
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Lizzy1011

Junior Member
Photos

These photos are nudes to clarify this.

And could I get more clarification about the nature of photos and how this could lead to a privacy suite.
 

quincy

Senior Member
These photos are nudes to clarify this.

And could I get more clarification about the nature of photos and how this could lead to a privacy suite.
Utah recognizes four privacy torts (as do most states). I am providing a link to a case, Stien v. Marriott Ownership Resorts, Inc., et al., from the Utah Court of Appeals, strictly for its good discussion of these torts.

You can scroll through the case specifics to where it says "Invasion of Privacy in General." You can start reading there and continue reading through Intrusion into Seclusion, Appropriation of a Name and Likeness, Publicity Given to Private Facts, and False Light.

This will give you an idea of what courts in Utah look at when determining if a privacy claim has merit.

Stien v. Marriott Ownership Resorts, Inc., et al.: http://law.justia.com/cases/utah/court-of-appeals-published/1997/stien.html

Although you are certainly not the only teenager who has thought it a good idea to take nude photos, these photos rarely stay private. Once they are shared (intentionally or otherwise), the photographs are hard to recover and harder to control. They can cause harm to the one photographed in many different ways, with employment one of those ways.

You can review facts with an attorney in your area. I am not sure your 17-year-old friend has assets enough to warrant a lawsuit, and I am not sure you want to consider filing a police report. Discuss it all with an attorney in your area to go over the pros and cons of taking legal action. Good luck.
 
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CdwJava

Senior Member
Yeah ... if this goes public (like in a lawsuit or crime report) all three involved could face child pornography and related charges. And, the parties that received the sent images might also get into trouble!

Your boyfriend - and you - may definitely want to consult an attorney to see what options there might be. There may be few options and no good ones.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
Slow down folks...there is no actual "proof" that anyone but the 18 year old BF (the one with child porn on his phone) sent the pics.
 

quincy

Senior Member
Slow down folks...there is no actual "proof" that anyone but the 18 year old BF (the one with child porn on his phone) sent the pics.
Here is a link to sexting laws in Utah (as of 2011): http://mobilemediaguard.com/states/sexting_laws_utah.html

Here is another link: http://www.netsafeutah.org/educators/stayingsafe/sexting.html

It appears that the only distribution of the nude photos was by the friend, who illegally accessed the photos.

I agree with Zigner that we do not know if the photos are of the 18 year old or of Lizzy. If the boyfriend did nothing but take photos of himself, he committed no crime. If the 17 year old girl sent nude photos of herself to him, he has a potential defense available but the girl could be charged.

A consultation with a Utah attorney seems smart, before trying to take any legal action against the 17-year-old friend.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
Here is a link to sexting laws in Utah (as of 2011): http://mobilemediaguard.com/states/sexting_laws_utah.html

Here is another link: http://www.netsafeutah.org/educators/stayingsafe/sexting.html

It appears that the only distribution of the nude photos was by the friend, who illegally accessed the photos.

I agree with Zigner that we do not know if the photos are of the 18 year old or of Lizzy. If the boyfriend did nothing but take photos of himself, he committed no crime. If the 17 year old girl sent nude photos of herself to him, he has a potential defense available but the girl could be charged.

A consultation with a Utah attorney seems smart, before trying to take any legal action against the 17-year-old friend.
Actually, the point I was trying to make is there is no way to prove that the pics were sent by the friend-who-borrowed-the-phone. The pics were sent from the 18 year old's phone...
 

quincy

Senior Member
Actually, the point I was trying to make is there is no way to prove that the pics were sent by the friend-who-borrowed-the-phone. The pics were sent from the 18 year old's phone...
Oh. I did in fact fail to get your point, which on a re-read seems a rather clear point. :)

Yes, there is that to consider, as well.

Nude photos do tend to create a bunch of assorted potential problems for all involved.
 

CdwJava

Senior Member
The person who possessed the nude photos of a minor can be in trouble, the person who sent them can be in trouble, and people who received them and saved them can be in trouble. So, there is potential liability all around. Suing the girl - or seeking prosecution for unlawful access - who may have sent the illegal pics from his phone opens this all up to public record and can subject the BF to criminal prosecution.

The owner of the phone needs to speak with an attorney ASAP to evaluate the potential exposure he might have to any criminal prosecution.
 

Lizzy1011

Junior Member
Actually, the point I was trying to make is there is no way to prove that the pics were sent by the friend-who-borrowed-the-phone. The pics were sent from the 18 year old's phone...
Well he didn't send them to my friend she took his phone and took pictures of the pictures with her own phone if that makes sense and at the time he was 17 and I was also 17 when I sent him the pictures.
 

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