Police want even more photos of 17-year-old’s genitals, lawyer says
Police in Virginia investigating a sexting case have photographed the 17-year-old suspect’s genitals and now they want to take pictures of his erect penis — so that they can try to prove he committed the crime of taking such pictures of himself, a lawyer representing the teenager said.
The Manassas, Va., high school student, accused of sending videos to his girlfriend, is facing felony charges of making and possessing child pornography.
He was charged in January, and in early June, police arrested him and photographed his genitals, Carlos Flores Laboy, the teenager’s guardian ad litem — an attorney appointed to protect his best interests — told the Los Angeles Times.
He didn’t want to be photographed, but “they said if you don’t do it, then we’ll do it by force,” said Stacy Bigley, the teenager’s aunt and guardian.
Next, Flores Laboy said, “they want to take photos of his erect penis to compare them against the evidence they have.” He said police told him they plan to use “some electronic means” to do the comparison. In order to make his penis erect, they plan to take him to a hospital and give him an injection, Bigley said.
The Manassas City Police Department said in a statement that it’s not its policy “to authorize invasive search procedures of suspects in cases of this nature and no such procedures have been conducted in this case.”
The Prince William County commonwealth’s attorneys office declined to comment but said it would make a statement on the situation soon.
The teenager was put on home confinement but got permission to visit family members in West Virginia until Tuesday, Bigley said, adding that his out-of-town location prevented authorities from serving a warrant to take the additional pictures.
His trial is scheduled for Aug. 1.
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