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QUESTION

Earlier this year, a guy I was talking to but was not dating asked me to send him "dirty pictures". The guy I sent the pictures to has pictures of about 30 other girls on his phone. Is there anyone I can talk to, to help me get through this without my parents finding out (therapy is probably out of the question)? Is there any legal action I can take to get the guy arrested and put on the sex offenders list, without getting myself in trouble? I wanna prevent other girls from falling in the same trap that I did with that guy.  

ANSWER

The best time to protect yourself is before you send the picture. Thinking before you send is crucial to making sure that your reputation is safe. However, if this person is convincing lots of young girls to send sexual pictures to him, he has to be stopped. I would suggest before you take any legal steps to report him and that you warn your parents about what happened. It might be embarrassing, they may ground you, but they are going to find out sooner or later, and it is better if you are the one to tell them. If you know where he lives, the first thing you can do is report him to law enforcement in his town. You can also report him to the Internet Crime Against Children task force for your area. Call the state police and ask them for the contact number for the ICAC. The faster the you act, the safer you will be.   

Parry Aftab Executive Director of WiredSafety.org & Stopcyberbullying.org

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