Exchanging Nude Pictures with Somebody Who May be a Minor

Hi. A friend of mine engaged with a female on kik messenger after seeing a post on twitter saying that she was looking to exchange nudes. The pictures she had looked well over 18. So he messaged her. She asked how old he was an he said 25 and she replied that she was younger but didn't specify at all that she was underage. My friend also thought kik was a 18+ website at the time. So they continued to talk an did exchange nude photos. None of the photos showed either of there faces. She was asking him some personal info but didn't get anywhere.

The next day he messaged her again to clarify she was of legal age and she said yes repeatedly that she was 18 and that he had nothing to worry about. They talked a little then the conversation was over and he deleted his kik account. No threats were made at all but it does seem a little weird to me. It could have been a cop. The person also asked if he wanted to meet and he said "no never". Obviously my friend isn't anything close to being a sex offender. He just wanted to have some fun online. Do you think he has anything to worry about? thanks

Anyone who thinks it's a good idea to exchange nude pictures with people he or she doesn't know, on the internet, has something to worry about, yes.

And I'm not just talking about legally.

Yes but could this be in anyway a child porn crime? Even if the person says there 18. None of the pictures sent looked underage

Not only could there be legal issues, depending on the full circumstances, your "friend" also opens himself up to scammers.

What kind of legal issues?

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Quoting Confusedhelpme123

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What kind of legal issues?

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"She looked older/she lied about her age" is not necessarily a valid defense.

yes but if it were some kind of police sting they would have to make it obvious that the person is underage. Correct?

As you have described what happened there was likely no crime committed. It is not illegal for adults to exchange nude pictures of themselves. She represented herself as being age 18 and the federal law on child pornography requires that the defendant know that the images he/she possessed were of a minor. See 18 U.S.C. § 2252. Most state laws on this subject have a similar requirement, though to know for sure whether he might have a state law problem here it would be important to know in what states he and the woman were located at the time.

Okay, I'll make it more plain for you.

Your friend has to worry about the fact that he's an idiot. If he weren't, he'd wait for some kind of confirmation of who this person was before he started sending pictures of his junk out indiscriminately. Until he learns to think with his northern brain instead of his southern one, there's always going to be the potential for legal issues.

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Quoting Taxing Matters

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As you have described what happened there was likely no crime committed. It is not illegal for adults to exchange nude pictures of themselves. She represented herself as being age 18 and the federal law on child pornography requires that the defendant know that the images he/she possessed were of a minor. See 18 U.S.C. § 2252. Most state laws on this subject have a similar requirement, though to know for sure whether he might have a state law problem here it would be important to know in what states he and the woman were located at the time.

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Thank you for your response. He is located in FL for her - who knows. The only thing he's worried about is at first when they exchanged photos she didn't give an age. So the next day he made sure to confirm that she was 18 and she did.