One young person has been charged, and others are under investigation for allegedly distributing an intimate image of another young person without consent.

Last Friday, the RCMP received a report from a school in the province indicating that an image of a student was being shared without consent by several other students in a group chat on Snapchat.

So far, police say their investigation has led to one arrest, with others anticipated.

Police are strongly cautioning against sharing intimate images over social media apps.

They say once an image is sent, the sender has no control over it – including how it is used or shared. Even if an image is deleted off a person’s phone, it may still be available in other forms, including as a picture of a picture.

The RCMP is warning that sharing someone’s intimate images without their consent is a criminal offence, and if the images are of someone under the age of 18, they could also face charges related to the distribution of child pornography.

They stress that it is important to understand that the legal consequences of such activity apply to both young people and adults and may result in a criminal record, jail time, and registration as a sexual offender.