pics of me when minor turned into web site by photog

[todd_p]

When I was 17, 18 and 19 I had a local photographer take hundreds of pic's of

me. (florida USA) We didnt do any nude but several topless covered with hands

when i was 17. He never asked for a photo ID or got a model release.

 

He has since turned all of the pic's, even the ones when I was a minor into a

pay internet site and sold the site to someone else who now runs the site.

 

I have asked the new webmaster to take the site down and his reply was that if

I tried to start a site of my own with those pic's plus new ones I have he

would sue me.

 

Since he is using pic's of me as a minor (17) without any proof of age or copy

of ID or a minor model waver do I have any recourse in getting those pic's

taken down or the site removed entirely? I havent mentioned the fact that some

of the pic's he is using are of me as a minor, kind of keeping it as my ace in

the hole. The webmaster has been nothing but threatining and nasty to me.

 

Where do I stand?

[todd_p]

Poster of the question is a female friend of mine. I couldnt answer her question so I let her post under my name since I was already a member here.

[todd_p]

Poster of the question is a female friend of mine. I couldnt answer her question so I let her post under my name since I was already a member here.

[peterlyons]

I'm 90% sure you have grounds for legal action here, but I think you'll get better information

if you consult an attorney, rather than the photographers in this forum.

[craig_gillette]

A lawyer will be able to tell you the specifics. I'm reasonably confident you should be able to have the under 18 images removed, less so on the others. It may depend on the laws in Florida as well as the kiddy porn provisions of federal law. His problems is that he has no way of knowing which are which. But it's likely that his service provider will be more willing to work with you - they won't want to be dealing with the feds if they can avoid it.

 

Assuming you want to give him one last chance, you need to tell him that you were underage in some of the images. What I'd suggest is that you copy and remove the identifying details - except name and picture and birthdate from your DL and send it to him. Then turn it over to an attorney.

[ellis_vener_photography]

You need a lawyer

[J.W. Wall]

Why not try phoning up your local prosecutor or sheriff/police and ask them?

[john_h.1]

"Why not try phoning up your local prosecutor or sheriff/police and ask them?"

 

That's good for reporting crimes but they don't handle civil legal claims.

[todd_p]

Thank you all and I'll pass on all the good advice. Unfortunatly I know she cant afford a lawyer at this time so I thing going to the ISP will be the next step for her.

[morgan lee]

The first consultation for many lawyers would be free. The first step any attorney would take is to send out a formal "Cease and Desist" letter. I would highly recommend seeing a lawyer to see how much it would cost to get that far in the process. It is likely a lot less than she fears it would be.

[lesroll]

It also may be helpful to mention the idea that, since you were a minor when you had the pics taken, you may still be able to repudiate whatever agreement you & the photographer had regarding any of the pics. That is to say, minors are able to repudiate contracts they enter into, an option which extends for some reasonable time after they reach majority. This may not help you, as it seems to have been a while ago, but you should check with an atty.