A police force is facing a legal challenge against its refusal to delete the details of a teenager who sent a naked photograph of himself on social media to a girl at his school.
The 14-year-old boy was not arrested or prosecuted by Greater Manchester Police.
But his mother said she was concerned police could release the information to potential employers when he is older.
The High Court is due to consider the case this morning.
The boy used a messaging site to send a photo of his naked body to the girl, who then shared it with others.
Police took no action against him other than to record on their database that he had taken and forwarded an “indecent” image of himself, logged under a section entitled “Obscene Publications”.
Greater Manchester Police has refused to delete the boy’s name from its files, a decision his mother is contesting at the court, which is sitting in Manchester.
The force is expected to argue it would pass on the details to an employer only after weighing up the risk he presented against the impact that disclosure would have on him.
Campaign group Just for Kids Law, which is supporting his family, says it is aware of other so-called “sexting” cases where police have been criticised for being too heavy-handed.
The Home Office is an interested party in the proceedings. Its position is understood to be that although police have to record such incidents, it is at their discretion whether they include the name of the person.
