UCI investigating teen Web photos

UC Irvine campus police are investigating whether one of the department’s dispatchers took photographs of male water polo players from 14 high schools in Orange, Los Angeles and San Diego counties and posted them on gay-oriented adult websites, a university spokesman said Sunday.

The players were apparently unaware their photos were being taken, and the images included players adjusting or changing their swimsuits.

The dispatcher, who may have used an alias to work as a sports photographer, remains on active duty.

The story was first reported in the Orange County Register. Police and public officials told the newspaper they are unsure whether a crime occurred because free speech laws make it hard to regulate published images.

-- Christian Berthelsen