Can You Get in Trouble if a Minor Requests Nude Pictures of You Online
My question involves criminal law for the state of: California
Hey guys,
I am a 23 year old male and I am currently a university student. I am a good kid with a clean past and am a model citizen. Two months ago, however I ran into a problem and it has just been bothering me and making me insane. I don't know if it is a legitimate worry or if I am just being paranoid.
For about 1 year from January 2017- January 2018 I used an anonymous encrypted international chatting app to talk to people cleanly on. This app was only for those who are 17+ and I used it thinking that I could make friends on it to talk to. I made countless numbers of friends both male and female, ranging anywhere from 17-60 and we had clean normal chats. You may be wondering why I used this app and the reason is that I have severe social anxiety and have trouble talking to people so I use this app to help me out and give me a sense that I have some sort of social life. Well, in January of this year I entered a chat and of course at the start I asked the age of the lady I was chatting with and she said she was 17. I chatted with her cleanly like I always do. I asked her normal things like I always do like "how is it going", "do you have any plans today", etc. Also, to verify that I talk to a real person I ask for a normal clean picture. I always send a picture as well, and it is simply a fully clothed picture of myself with my face blurred to keep my identity concealed. This person sent a clean picture of themselves and and then proceeded without me even asking to send me a nude picture. I was shocked and never even asked for one and I immediately deleted the chat. I am sitting here two months later and am very worried. I even ended up leaving the app due to this experience and this has caused me to become lonely as well because I relied on chatting with people on this app cleanly for moral support. I never joined this app for this disgusting and pathetic purpose. I did it to talk to people and now incident has been driving me nuts, because I never even did anything wrong.
I am being serious about everything I have said and would really appreciate advice. Do you guys think I have anything to worry about?
Re: Can You Get in Trouble if a Minor Requests Nude Pictures of You Online
If somebody asks you for something inappropriate, and you cut off the communication, that won't get you in trouble.
I suggest that you look for a less anonymous chat app or forum, in which you can be better assured that you're dealing with responsible adults and won't be sent inappropriate materials or become the subject of an extortion scam.
Re: Can You Get in Trouble if a Minor Requests Nude Pictures of You Online
If you have to blur your face to protect your identity then I suggest you avoid the Internet nonsense and that you stick to communicating with people the old fashioned way - face to face and in person.