When a Fake Nude of Your Child Is Going Around School

It usually starts with a school photo, a sports picture, or an Instagram post. Someone runs it through an app, and by the end of the day the fake is on phones across the school. Your child did nothing wrong. Your first moves matter more than anything that comes after.

Do Not Save the Image

This is the rule parents break most often, with the best intentions. Do not screenshot, download, forward, or save the image itself, and do not let your child do it either. A sexual image of a minor is illegal to possess even when it is fake and even when you are trying to help. Instead, write down where it appeared, the account names, who sent it, and when. Let law enforcement collect the image.

Report It the Right Way

Report it to NCMEC's CyberTipline at report.cybertip.org and to your local police. Use NCMEC's free Take It Down service at takeitdown.ncmec.org to create a digital fingerprint that participating platforms use to block the image. Report it to the school in writing, keep a copy, and ask the school what policy it is applying and what it will do to stop the spread.

Do not confront the other student or their parents with the image, and do not post about it. Describe what happened. Never send the picture.

What the Law Says

In Pennsylvania, disseminating an AI-generated sexual depiction of a minor to harass, annoy, or alarm is a first-degree misdemeanor, and Pennsylvania law also treats AI-generated child sexual abuse material as a serious felony. Federally, the TAKE IT DOWN Act makes publishing an intimate image of a minor, real or fake, a crime punishable by up to 3 years in prison, and platforms must remove it within 48 hours of a valid request. Families may also have civil claims against the person who made or shared it.

Get Help Now

Contact Gabriel Vincent Tese, Esq. at Spector Gadon Rosen Vinci, PC (gtese@sgrvlaw.com) for a confidential consultation. If your child is struggling, the Crisis Text Line is available by texting HOME to 741741.