The Oakland Police Department is trying to get Facebook to take down a page that is threatening to post nude photos of underage local girls including students at Messalonskee High School.
The department “has been in contact with Facebook to bring the page down and find out who is responsible,” Capt. Rick Stubbert, of the Oakland Police Department, said Tuesday night.
The department also has been in touch with other law enforcement agencies about the page, though it’s not clear what other schools are involved. Police are not saying what the name of the page is.
“We are not the only ones having this issue,” Stubbert said, though he didn’t elaborate. “This really brings home the danger of putting information and photographs out there for things like this to happen.”
The page was reported to Messalonskee High School’s resource officer, Detective Tracey Frost, Tuesday.
The department’s Facebook page says that Waterville, Winslow and Fairfield resource officers also have been made aware, though it’s not clear if the threats also involve those schools.
Stubbert said it may take time to get the page down.
“These things don’t happen immediately,” he said. “We’ve done everything we can as of right now, and tomorrow we will tackle it again.”
On the department’s Facebook page, it says, “Facebook is a massive entity and at times it takes hours for them to respond to this type of emergency request. However, they work well with law enforcement and we expect a reply soon.”
The Somerset County Sheriff’s Department also posted a notice about the site on its Facebook page.
“If anyone has fallen victim to this Facebook site, please notify your local law enforcement agency,” the sheriff’s page says. “Further, if you have any information regarding who may be behind this, please notify your local law enforcement as well.”
The Oakland department makes a plea that “if anyone has any information about who possesses these images, please let us know.”
“It’s also important to know that if you save, send or copy these images, you may be in violation of Maine’s child pornography laws,” it says. “Any information or help is appreciated.”
Peter McGuire — 861-9239
Twitter: PeteL_McGuire
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