The investigation began after police in Glanmire, County Cork, received a complaint about the sexually explicit picture of a teenager, partly dressed in school clothing. The complaint suggested that a local girl was the subject but after speaking to the girl and her parents, the police have definitively ruled this out.
The investigation under the Irish Child Trafficking and Pornography Act continues, and police have warned that anyone found with the image, or involved in its distribution, could face prosecution and imprisonment.
Global sales of mobile phones that can take, send and receive digital colour photographs are accelerating, despite interoperability problems and picture quality limitations.
Notwithstanding the picture quality, the legal implications arising from the abuse of the technology are becoming obvious. Due to their size and ease of use, camera phones can go unnoticed in places where conventional cameras are not allowed, such as locker rooms, courtrooms or art museums.
At the same time, indiscreet photographs taken by such phones, without the subject's knowledge or consent, have started appearing on various web sites or, as in this case, circulating from phone to phone.