Your daughters boyfriend is threatening to distribute pictures of her nude can you stop him?

Answer 1

There are a myriad of questions that would determine this.

The short answer is no, mere threats aren't actionable. Your best avenue on this may be to illustrate the legal hot water he may find himself in...and then to mean it and actually follow through!

1) How old are the parties involved?

This should seem obvious. If one or both of the parties are generally under the age of 18, that may become a problem for him.

2) What state do you live in?

States define obscenity differently, and they all have different privacy laws. These laws are different still when minors are involved.

3) Were the pictures taken with your daughter's knowledge and consent?

If they were, it weakens your arguments. It's easier to claim tortitous behavior when she didn't know these were being taken, than to have actor's remorse afterwards.

4) What transmission method is he going to use?

The transmission method may mean the difference between a potential state avenue versus a federal one. If he prints them out and distributes them locally, that's one thing. But if he emails them or sends them via text message etc, then he used a wire for inter-state transfer (even if the recipients are in the same state as him) and federal remedies become a possibility.

5) Are you sure he even has pictures?

Pointing all this out and making a few threats of legal consequences of your own may be enough to dissuade him. Unfortunately your best avenues won't be available to you UNLESS he actually does something.

You can try getting a court order forcing him to turn over all the pics that he has, but I'm doubting that would work.