Can I Press Charges With The Police?

[gogyrlgo]

During a social studies class in High School, one student took pictures of me and threatened to post them on the internet and Facebook.

Later, the student that was taking the pictures had to go to the bathroom and left her camera sitting on top of her classroom desk. I took the opportunity to delete only the pictures of me that she took and left the camera were it was sitting originally.

Was I breaking any laws touching her camera and deleting the pictures she took of me? Did the girl that took the pictures and threatened to put them on the internet break any laws? What is the name of your state (Hawaii)?

 

[CdwJava]

You did not mention the state you are in, so checking the statutes is impossible.

In general, no prosecutor would touch this. The other person likely broke no laws taking images of you, and you might have (arguably) broken some law in deleting the images from the device. If you (or her) called the police, the police would likely suggest you both grow up and have done with it.

In the future do not touch her camera. And if you do not want your picture taken, you may have to wear a mask. Unfortunately for you, you generally have no legal right to avoid having your image taken.

 

[gogyrlgo]

Thanks for the reply. I heard that this girl has filed a report with the school officer. So, I was worried that she really does have a case against me. I deleted her pics of me because she was threatening to post them online. Honestly, I can't believe she's doing this, but she is and the officer is taking the report. He'll probably pull me in tomorrow to hear my side of it.

 

[CdwJava]

Thanks for the reply. I heard that this girl has filed a report with the school officer. So, I was worried that she really does have a case against me. I deleted her pics of me because she was threatening to post them online. Honestly, I can't believe she's doing this, but she is and the officer is taking the report. He'll probably pull me in tomorrow to hear my side of it.

Yes, he probably will.

Arguably, you committed theft ... and, depending on the laws in your un-named state and the nature of her camera, you may have committed some other crime involving unlawful access to a computer device. The odds of a prosecutor wasting a court's time is slim, but I can see you being guilty of a crime ... unless she was attempting to extort something of value from you, then her taking a picture of you was not likely criminal at all.

The school officer has to deal with it, but he or she will likely deal with it through mediation and warning the two of you to knock off the child's play. And while no prosecution may come about, the school may be able to take action against one or both of you. With luck, you'll only end up with a scolding.

 

[cyjeff]

Were the pictures of a sexual nature and are you a minor?

 

[The Occultist]

Ugh, he's still wasting our time despite the hints?

gogyrlgo: WHAT STATE ARE YOU IN?!?!?!?!

 

[quincy]

I think the state is Hawaii.

Hawaii's Department of Education has no state policy on cell phone, camera phone or camera use in the schools, but most (all?) high schools in Hawaii have policies in place that restrict the use of these devices and prohibit all use of such devices in the classroom itself.

Most schools (throughout the country) do not allow the use of cameras or cell phones in the classroom because they can be, one, disruptive, and two, be used to cheat on tests through the text messaging of answers or through the photographing of tests and the sending of them to others and, three, used for photographing students without consent and then posting these photos or videos online. It is important to note that some classroom teachers now may encourage student use of "smart phones" in their classroom to assist the student with in-class work, so it could depend on not only school policy but on specific teacher policy, as well.

So, if the high school in question, and the classroom in question, has such a policy against camera use in the classroom, the student who took the photos may be in as much trouble as the student who deleted the photos - with "trouble" defined as the possible confiscation of the camera/phone, and detention for the in-class use and/or abuse of the camera.

I agree with Carl that this is liable to result in nothing more than a warning to both students to knock off their childish behavior and refrain from similar behavior in the future, however (unless, as cyjeff implied, the photo that was taken was something along the lines of an "underskirt" photo - although if its been deleted, that would be hard to prove).

 

[gogyrlgo]

I am in Hawaii. It was spirit week and I dressed up in a house robe with curlers in my hair. This girl started to take pictures of me and kept teasing that she was going to post them on FB. Kids bring cameras to school all the time and I don't think its been a problem until now with me.

 

[gogyrlgo]

I was 16 when this happened. I just turned 17 the other day though.

 

[CdwJava]

If you did not want to have your photo taken when you were dressed like that, you should not have dressed like that. You cannot expect to dress oddly and NOT become a spectacle.

Unless the school chooses to deal with one or both of you, this will likely end when the officer talks to you and you are both told to knock it off.