Gardaí probe circulation of phone porn image by students

GARDAÍ have launched an investigation into the circulation of a pornographic image of a schoolgirl by hundreds of secondary school students using camera phones in Cork, Limerick and Kerry.

The image shows a teenage girl, partly clothed in school uniform, in a sexually compromising position. Gardaí in the Cork city suburb of Glanmire, acting on recent complaints, initially thought the image was of a local teenager and spoke to a girl from a secondary school and her parents. At that stage the image had been widely circulated by camera phone, both among the students and to older adults, but because of the size of the image the identity of the girl was not clear. The girl denied she was the person portrayed in the image.

It is understood gardaí are satisfied the girl to whom they spoke is not the girl in the photograph, and following initial technical work on the image they believe the school crest is not that of any school in the area. It is also possible the image has been digitally altered.

Gardaí have launched an investigation under the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act.

While their investigation initially centred on Glanmire, it grew in scope last night when it emerged a similar image was being circulated by students, again using camera phones, in Limerick and Kerry.

A senior garda spokesman said forwarding pornographic images of a minor to other people was a serious offence that could result in a lengthy jail sentence.

The development is set to fuel controversy over the use of camera phones for the dissemination of pornography.

Three students from a Dublin school were suspended last year for distributing pornographic images on their camera phones, although it is understood these images were not of a minor.

National Congress of Catholic Secondary Schools’ Parent Association spokeswoman, Barbara Johnston, urged parents to check all images on their children’s mobile phones.

Ms Johnston said such phones should be banned from all schools as they could be used to take illicit pictures. “Whoever took the pictures knew they were doing the wrong thing and whoever circulated them knew they were doing the wrong thing,” she said.

Gardaí said they would treat with strictest confidence any information which could pinpoint the source of the images.

Glanmire gardaí can be reached at [phone].