Police, DCFS Investigate After Little Girl Appears Duct Taped On Facebook
UPDATED 12/20/11 2:05 p.m.
CHICAGO (CBS) -- An investigation into possible child abuse is underway, after a man posted a picture of a little bound in duct tape on Facebook.
The photo, published by the Web site "The Smoking Gun," shows a young girl with tape over her mouth and her wrists and ankles bound together with duct tape. The man who posted the photo apparently, "This is wut happens wen my baby hits me back. ; )" as a caption.
The profile belonged to "Andre Dmcg Curry," 21, of Chicago. The picture was later removed, and the entire Faecbook profile later came down.
But screen shots of the Facebook page have circulated around the Internet. One of the man's own Facebook friends apparently wrote, "U goin to jail" as a comment.
Several other Facebook friends also posted comments about the nature of the photo. In one, a woman calls the man a "nasty dirty child abuser." In another, a woman claims she called DCFS and pointed them in the direction of his profile.
But the Smoking Gun reported that one of the man's Facebook friends said she believed he was "just playing around" and was not intending to abuse the little girl. The woman told the online publication that the picture was over the top, but that Curry was only being "playful," and different people have different ways to play with their children.
It's unclear whether the Facebook user removed the photo on his own or whether a user reported it as abuse. A post on Facebook about website security says content that is "hateful, threatening, or pornographic; incites violence or contains nudity or graphic or gratuitous violence" is not allowed on the site.
Police and DCFS have been investigating since being notified of the photo on Dec. 14, police News Affairs Officer Michael Sullivan said.
DCFS spokesman Jimmie Whitelow confirmed the agency is investigating allegations of abuse in the case. DCFS has had no prior contact with the family. Whitelow would not comment on whether there were other children in the family.
The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.
