High School Athletes End Up on Porn Sites

Jan. 24, 2008— -- When innocent photos of her son's water polo teammates -- resting on the pool deck, getting out of the water, stretching before a match -- appeared on several gay pornography Web sites, La Donna Verloop was outraged.

Verloop is one of dozens of parents in Orange County, Calif., who learned recently that pictures of their sons participating in school water polo competitions were posted alongside images of graphic sex and subject to a bevy of explicit comments.

"I was totally shocked when I first saw the pictures of the boys online," said Verloop, whose son attends Foothill High School in Pleasanton, Calif. "The thing that is so frightening about it is the hopeless feeling the boys have and that there is nothing we can do. These kids just want to play water polo."

Parents say images appeared on at least five sites and included pictures of boys from several local schools, some as young as 14. The faces of the boys are not obscured and the names of their high schools are often easily read on their caps and swimsuits.

The incident raises questions about individuals' privacy when their pictures are taken in public. In general, lawyers told ABCNEWS.com, photos taken in public of minors older than 13 and that are not considered graphic are allowed to be posted online without obtaining permission.

"We have a huge problem with both gay and heterosexual predators attending sporting events and taking pictures of athletes and cheerleaders," said Parry Aftab, an Internet privacy and security lawyer and executive director of WiredSafety.

"Federal child pornography laws apply if a child is under 18, if there is nudity, sex or mock sex, if there is a focus on the genitalia, or if the images are intended to promote lewd and lascivious acts. Under the Child Online Protection Act, any images of children 12 or younger have to be taken down, but these photographers know that high-school-age kids are older than 13, and that there is not much legally that can be done to stop them from posting."