CINCINNATI -- People are sharing a disturbing video of apparent child pornography on Facebook, saying they want the perpetrator to be found.
Police say that's exactly the wrong thing to do.
Several people sent the video to multiple Scripps stations including RTV6 which appears to depict an underage girl performing oral sex on an adult man. Many of the messages included the phrase "I want this to go viral." There's no indication where or when it was recorded, or who's in it.
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department issued a plea Saturday morning asking people to stop sharing the video, which they say is NOT from Indiana.
According to IMPD the child is safe and the man has been identified.
ATTENTION PLEASE
To everyone concerned about the viral video involving the small child, PLEASE STOP SHARING IT. Think of the child and how this will affect her. The child is safe, and the male has been identified. This is not in Indiana. Thank you all for your genuine concerns.— IMPD East District (@IMPDEast) February 3, 2018
Law enforcement agencies from Alabama to France have gotten complaints as the video continues to spread, AL.com reported. According to the Buffalo (New York) Police Department, "Facebook is aware of this and is working with authorities."
Police in Memphis, Tennessee, even warned that sharing the video "is considered distribution and you could be criminally charged for doing so.
"We understand that sharing information sometimes brings a criminal to justice, but sharing amongst Facebook friends is not the way to do it," the department said.
Aside from being graphic and possibly illegal -- the female's age isn't clear, though she seems to be a child -- police worry the video could carry some kind of malicious code meant to infiltrate a viewer's computer.
"Don't open it, don't share it, don't forward it," Cincinnati Police Lt. Steve Saunders said.
Instead, notify Facebook and then delete the video from your account.
Tony Garrett, executive director of Central Alabama Crime Stoppers, told AL.com "some things point to" the video being made in Alabama. But there's no confirmation of that.
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