I Need A Bit Of Advice On Porn

I hope this doesn't come back and bite me in the ass, but I'd appreciate some input from other members. This might be a "Duck And Cover" situation, but I want to put it out there to get your thoughts.



I spend a lot of time fixing the bugs that people get on their computers, and I get an insight into other people's lives as I go through their files.
I don't think I've ever had a machine on my bench that didn't have some porn files of video or pictures, but that's not the problem.

I just worked on a machine that had underage porn in one of the user log-ons, but the user is only 13 years old. His search history and some of his files were clearly what most of us would consider illegal, and I deleted everything when I cleaned the system.

I don't think I should tell his parents because he is looking at girls his own age, but I worry that they could be busted for something their son is looking at.

I really don't know how to deal with this.
Is it still kiddie porn if it's a kid that's looking at it.


My opinion is that he's a typical boy that wants to look at girls, but the stuff he had would put any adult in jail. I'd appreciate any opinions on this, but I'm thinking I should just let this slide because he's downloading stuff in his own age group.


What do you think, should I tell his parents, or should I take his secrets to the grave and save the boy any embarrassment ?

prOn is prOn Anx, especiallly when it's of the kiddie type.

Personally, I don't care who's viewing it, if the images contain underage individuals ... They Are Illegal, and the data/drive should have been turned over to the proper authorities. Let them decide what if anything should be done with regards to the youth, BUT the data from the hard drive MIGHT provide them with sufficient info to track down the sick bastards who produce such filth ... at the expense of children.

Is it still kiddie porn if it's a kid that's looking at it.

YES, Yes it is. It's not who's looking at it, the Underage Content makes that determination.

and I deleted everything when I cleaned the system.

It's still there, at least the images are.

but I worry that they could be busted for something their son is looking at.

How can you be certain it Was the kid? Just sayin' ...

I've turned a blind eye on many an occasion, mostly marital infidelities, of-age pron and things that are simply none of my business, but If I Ever encountered kiddie porn that had obviously been Saved to the drive ... well, that drive will be turned over to the proper authorities. If only to possibly aid them in tracking down the source. I'm not talking about a random happenstance that could have been the result of pop-ups or inadvertant clicking, I'm talking about a situation that clearly demonstrates the desire to seek, find and access such content ... repeatedly.

As a father of three, I would find it very difficult to just let it slide.



.02

At the least you should notify his parents imo.
What may be an innocent kids curiousity now may not be in a few years time, is it really worth the risk.
As a minor i wouldnt expect he would get in too much trouble but some intervention now may save some heartache in the future.

And as 12m8keall2c said how do you know that it is the kids porn on the computer.

Not a tough decision really.

I agree that you should at least inform the parents.

If, IF, he's only doing this online, well maybe they'll deal with it, but it could uncover something bigger... maybe if he's stopped now, his parents talk to him / work with him, well maybe it won't grow to acting out in the future.....

I agree that the parents should be informed, if for no other reason than to warn them of the potential legal complications if they ever get busted. The cops aren't going to be easily convinced, nor will a judge, that they weren't involved and it could really ruin their lives. It might be difficult for the kid, but hey, that's what adolescence is supposed to be

How sure are you that they have a 13 year old son and that it was really him doing the surfing, though?

illicit pictures of minors on your pc is a crime. the age of the owner of the pc, or the age of the person viewing the images is not the issue. it's the images themselves.

I'd do one of two things.

either I'd approach the young man, tell him how much trouble he and his parents could find themselves in if the authorities ever found out (and they tend to find out) or I'd go straight to the parents.

The kid might not know that he is committing a crime but he should be alerted to it, either by you or his parents. If you don't have a relationship with the family and you are just a hired hand working on the pc, I'd let the parents know about this.

Speaking as a parent, yes I'd want to know if my child had images like that on the computer. A 13 year old kid, the parents need to know.

The parents will be appreciative that you let them know. And if they aren't, it probably wasn't the kid.

I'm not an expert in psychology, but have some little knowledge.

It's not usual for a kid to be looking specifically for pictures of girls his own age. The boys I knew that had porn at that age were going in for the Playboy/Hustler type models, exaggerated female forms.

Unusual fixations can start early and if they aren't nipped in the bud can develop into full-fledged perversions. This kid is looking at kids his own age, yes. But he will be imprinting on them as the type of pornography he prefers. I'm not saying it's certain he'll grow up to be a pedophile, but it could very well happen without intervention.

Telling his parents is the best thing.

If it was just "regular" porn, representing of-age females, I'd say leave the young man to it. But it's not, it's illegal and could lead to worse down the road.

I'm glad I'm not that kid, nor his mother. And I'm glad I'm not the one that has to tell his parents, either. I don't envy you.

Yeah, I agree, nip it in the bud. You got a future Catholic priest on your hands there, and we don't need any more.

Peace

I would have to agree with previous posters. I personally believe that his parents should indeed be informed. Can you ascertain where he got the porn from? Was it downloaded from the web, or was it something he downloaded from a digital camera?

For bad things to happen all the good men need do is nothing.

Or words to that effect.

Talk to the parents, sooner rather than later.

I don't envy you either. Good luck.

Depends on what type of media:

If it's a cam recording the kid did over his computer privately with another child I would just notify his parents.

If however....

It was downloaded video and images of children from the internet then it may be appropriate to turn it over to the authorities....because the children in those videos and pictures are the ones being abused....and the ones distributing the material and holding the cameras are the felons. Being part of the market for this material even if it's a 13 year old downloading it puts more children in danger.

How do you even know it is the kid that is looking at it? It could be the mom, dad or other sibling.

Originally posted by mnmcandiez
How do you even know it is the kid that is looking at it? It could be the mom, dad or other sibling.

He said it was based on the profile. Since it was in the kid's profile's settings, it would be expected it was the kid doing it, though not a sure thing.

Thanks for the advice everyone, I will be having a word with his father over the weekend. Though I do feel a little bad for the kid and the invasion of his privacy.

Originally posted by junglejake

Originally posted by mnmcandiez
How do you even know it is the kid that is looking at it? It could be the mom, dad or other sibling.

He said it was based on the profile. Since it was in the kid's profile's settings, it would be expected it was the kid doing it, though not a sure thing.

I know for a fact it wasn't anyone other than the kid looking at the stuff because it was in a password protected profile for him only. The content was one short video and a few pictures that could of even been a girl he knows on-line or at school.

The hard drive has been completely wiped and cleaned so the offensive material is gone for good and been over-written.

I'm sure not looking forward to the conversation I need to have with his dad. :shk:

Originally posted by kinglizard
Depends on what type of media:

If it's a cam recording the kid did over his computer privately with another child I would just notify his parents.

Good point, exhibitionism amongst young teens is not unprecedented. If the child is experimenting sexually, it's the parent's concern, not yours. But you don't know that, tough call!

Hey Anx,

Sorry if my response seemed a bit excessive, but I read ...

His search history and some of his files were clearly what most of us would consider illegal, and I deleted everything when I cleaned the system.

...

, but the stuff he had would put any adult in jail.

and gathered it was more than simply ...

The content was one short video and a few pictures that could of even been a girl he knows on-line or at school.

Had I been aware of the specifics, my response would have more inline with the general consensus of others who have posted. Talk to the parents.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On a side note:
I had a similar situation with a client that came by way of referral. Their daughter's account [mydocs] had several text files with references to "how bad things were", to include contemplations of suicide. It was one of the few times that I've felt compelled to make mention of what I encountered, while restoring a PC. In doing so, I tried to approach the situation as "by the way ..." as possible.

In the end they were Most appreciative, and we've actually struck up a loose friendship as a result thereof. As for the daughter ... well, they sought counseling and he says it's made a profound difference in her outlook and overall personality.

Sorry for the somewhat off-topic Rant.

... just thought I'd share.


 
[edit: first quote tag]

[edit on 29-6-2007 by 12m8keall2c]

Originally posted by 12m8keall2c

Hey Anx,

Sorry if my response seemed a bit excessive,

I really appreciate your input, and I don't think your first reply was excessive.
This is a serious issue that needs to be dealt with properly.

I'm not sure if the pictures or the video were sent to him on MSN, through his email, or something he got off Limewire, but I've decided not to let this slide.

I know the family very well, and I'll see them all Saturday when we go to a local festival and have a BBQ that night.

After reading everyones replies I've decided to take the kid and his dad aside and have a private talk about what's going on, and make it very clear to the boy about the potential legal ramifications involved with his actions.

I suspect his internet privileges will be monitored more closely from now on because they are very responsible parents, but a little computer illiterate.

I'll post tomorrow night and let everyone know what happened.

You'll do fine. I had to tell one of my neighbors that his daughter and her boyfriend were sneaking into his covered boat when they thought no one was looking. There's no easy way to start that conversation.

"So, the weather's nice.... Uhm, you're daughter's rocking your boat with some dude when you're not looking."

It was awkward, the guy just looked at me waiting for the punch line. Then he said, "Thanks, glad you told me." He never brought it up again except once to say that his daughter was without a boyfriend. He didn't have any hard feelings towards me at all. Later he was even cool with me when I called animal control about one of his dogs. After the help I gave him with his 16 year old daughter, he would probably let me BBQ his dogs without batting an eye. He knew I was looking out for his interest.

Let us know how it turned out.

[edit on 29-6-2007 by dbates]

Porn is a VERY serious issue.

Do NOT involve yourself with it...whatsoever.

If you are IT working on somebody's harddrive and happen to find out that the 'user' is doing 'illegal stuffs'. Boy oh boy