Nude Instagram pictures involving Wake teens linked to cyberbullying
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- A search warrant shows the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation has asked a judge for permission to search 15 accounts on the social media website Instagram as agents look into the sharing of nude photos of Wake County high school students.
The case began in February when the mother of a Wake Forest teen reported nude pictures of her daughter were being shared on the website.
The case expanded to other Wake County high schools and then as many as nine other North Carolina counties.
The sexually explicit photos include close-ups of body parts and depictions of sex acts.
The sharing of nude images of anyone underage engaged in sex is considered second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor under North Carolina law. The warrant also says investigators are treating the cases as possible cyber-bullying.
The warrant says the images were shared with the sole purpose of exposing "students in area schools or geographic locations that were 'hoes' or 'thots', thereby embarrassing or tormenting that individual.
The warrant asks a judge for access to account information, including technical details that could reveal who owns the accounts and their geographic location.
