A high school student in Stamford, Conn., has been arrested after posting a sexually explicit photo of his ex-girlfriend on Instagram in a local case of a growing nationwide problem referred to as “revenge porn.”
Police said the 17-year-old boy took a photo of the two engaged in a sex act, without the victim's consent, and posted it online in retaliation.
The victim notified police on Monday after friends told her about it, police said.
Authorities quickly had the photo removed and took the suspect into custody. His name has not been released because of his age, but police said he has been charged with voyeurism and disseminating voyeuristic materials.
He has since been released to the custody of his parents and he'll be in court next week.
Police want to be clear that the incident did not happen on school grounds.
Similar instances have made headlines across the country, prompting experts to urge parents to educate their children on the dangers of technology.
"At that age, couples are breaking up all the time and they don't have the maturity to handle the issue," said Rich Hanley, an Internet expert and professor of journalism at Quinnipiac University in Hamden said. "The first instinct, the first impulse is to post something negative about the person doing the breaking up."
Two states -- California and New Jersey -- recently added anti-"revenge porn" laws to the books. Similar proposals are in the works in a handful of states and local lawmakers say they are looking into legislation to stem the problem in Connecticut.
State Rep. Gerald Fox said last month that he plans to combat this problem in the next session.
"But I think everyone would agree it's the type of behavior that shouldn't be tolerated," said Fox.
