JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Several Jacksonville women said a man sent them unwanted, explicit photos on social media.
The women told News4Jax on Monday that they received inappropriate messages from a private Instagram account named "Smeezy_904."
They said they've reported the messages from the unknown user. But according to internet experts, it's not a crime for adults to send or receive sexually explicit photos.
"For people to just send stuff like that on social media, it's unwarranted and no one wants to see that," said one woman, who wished to remain anonymous.
The woman said she and several other women received the same photos from "Smeezy_904."
There is even a support group on Facebook in which the women comment about the unwanted images.
News4Jax went by the home where the man calling himself "Smeezy_904" lives. A person at the home said he knows "Smeezy_904," but would confirm he lived there or comment about the messages.
"I just think it should be punishable in some type of way because so is prostitution and so are some of these other little things that other individuals get involved in that contains sexual behaviors," said Jacksonville resident Phyllis Johnson. "It goes hand-in-hand with prostitution and any other sexual activity, so why isn't it a crime?"
Christopher Hamer, a freelance internet networking security consultant, said sending and receiving unwanted, sexually explicit photos through Instagram is not a crime unless they are sent to a minor.
"It falls under their terms of service," he said. "Unless he's communicating a threat or something that is actionable, where they honestly believe that he's going to cause them physical harm or they're in fear, there's very little, I think, that the legal aspect can take hold of."
Hamer said the best thing to do is block the user and file a complaint with the social media provider against the user sending unwanted messages.
The women said they hope others who may have received the messages will come forward, and block and report "Smeezy_904" to prevent the user from sending more messages.
"I would encourage women to speak out about it and also block the person," one woman said.