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Last updated on Friday, December 28, 2012
(LAFAYETTE) - A Lafayette woman is accused of deliberately posting a nude photo of her teenage daughter on the girl’s Facebook page.
The 50-year-old woman faces charges of child exploitation and child pornography possession in connection with the November 2011 incident.
The identity of the mother is not being released in an effort to protect the identity of of the girl.
Detective Mark Pinkard told the Journal & Courier that investigators spent a year collecting evidence, including issuing subpoenas to Facebook and the teen's cellphone provider.
The investigation began after a concerned teacher tipped off police.
A probable cause affidavit says the 14-year-old girl took the photo of herself but that her mother had possession of the phone when the picture was uploaded to Facebook.
Lafayette Detective Mark Pinkard says police determined the girl did not post the photo, but someone else had.
The photo was on the popular website for several hours before it was flagged and removed. Police sent a digitized photo of the girl to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Pinkard explained the photo was sent to the center's database to make sure the photo surfaced on Facebook and someone didn't screen capture it and try to exploit her further.
The child exploitation charge carries a potential sentence of six to 20 years in prison.
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