What would happen if a minor was falsely accused of being a predator by an online sting group for sexting and an investigation started?

Question

What would happen if a minor sexted other minors online, posted offensive and outrageous things, adult porn and a sting group reported them to the police assuming they were a predator and essentially accusing of being a specific adult in a totally different county , and a criminal investigation is launched on this adult and child’s accounts?

Will this child’s social media accounts be subpoenaed or searched?

Will they have to go out to this child’s address or notify parents in some way, can this child get into trouble?

What exactly would happen in a case like this where minors want to prosecute the minor sending sexual messages? Would this be serious enough for police to search subpoena or pursue the child’s address?

If the accused social media account is deactivated and past the window of reactivation will law enforcement still go out of their way to get logs and info from it in such a situation?

Answer 1

If such accusations are reported to the police or some other law enforcement authority, the authorities are likely to investigate. They are not required to investigate, but it is probable that they will chose to do so.

They may use whatever methods they think proper to investigate, subject to the limits of permitted procedure in the jurisdiction involved. (In the US, for example, subject to not violating anyone's constitutional rights.) This could certainly include visiting the accused minor and asking questions of the minor, the minor's parents, and other people. It could include visiting the involved adult and asking questions. It could include looking into the online accounts of the people involved, perhaps after obtaining warrant or a subpoena. How the matter will be treated will depend on exactly what accusations are made, and what evidence there is to support such accusations, and hoe much law enforcement believes the accusations.

The impression that the accusers make on law enforcement will have a significant effect. So will the eventual impressions that any accused people make. In general, law enforcement organizations have a great deal of discretion in how to handle accusations.

One would hope that after some investigation the truth of the matter becomes apparent to law enforcement, and they act properly in the light of that truth. But that does not always happen.

People who have done nothing wrong can sometimes get in trouble when there is an apparently reasonable accusation made, both minors and adults. People have sometimes been incorrectly convicted of crimes.

A person being seriously accused of crime, and being investigated by law enforcement, would probably be wise to consult a lawyer.