NSW In Trouble with School for Photoshopped Photos - What to Do?

[iago]

Hello,

This situation I'm in is quite stressful and I'm unsure as to what decision I should make. I'm 16 and I made a photoshop picture of two teachers from my school standing next to a young girl in a basement with their arms around her. There is no nudity or anything explicit but it's obvious what is implied. All the photos used were found on Google images so I didn't take the photos.

I printed this picture out on one occasion and let a teacher find it. They don't have any concrete evidence on me but they are very suspicious of me, as there are rumors that it was me. I just want to know if this is illegal, and if police are able to get a warrant or something to look at my Facebook account or something. The principal also mentioned a subpoena and I wasn't sure under what circumstances they can be issued.

Any help at all would be much appreciated, it was a stupid mistake and I'm wondering whether I should hand myself in to get a lesser penalty or if I should wait and see what happens.

 

[Ponala]

From what you describe I can't think of any laws broken.

 

[Rod]

Possibly defamation. If someone was sacked or jailed and it was later found to be due to fake material you produced, you could have crippled your family financially.

Glad you recognise the stupidity of your actions. It could have caused great harm to the people involved and the school itself.

 

[iago]

Possibly defamation. If someone was sacked or jailed and it was later found to be due to fake material you produced you could have crippled your family financially.

Glad you recognize the stupidity of your actions. It could have caused great harm to the people involved and the school itself.

The school has recognized it's fake, and there are no other copies made, so he won't get sacked, and I highly doubt it could come up again in the future. Thanks for the response though.

 

[Rod]

Keep in mind that while no economic losses have occurred, you can still be charged with defamation. Damages can still be awarded, albeit not as much, against you/your parents as have you created, printed and distributed fake information designed to damage the reputation of another person.

 

[oscar01]

It’s a good reminder that even something created as a joke can have serious consequences when it involves other people’s reputations. I agree that understanding the potential legal issues before sharing edited material is important. Social profiles are also another area where people express their interests and personality, and an Angel Dust Pfp can be a fun choice for profile pictures when someone wants their online presence to stand out.