Teen Arrested After Stolen Phone Leads to Shocking Cybercrime

A troubling case of cybercrime has stirred up concern in the Orange Walk community this week. A young woman’s lost cellphone turned into a nightmare when private photos were shared without her consent through her own social media accounts. But thanks to swift action by the Belize Police Department’s Cybercrime Unit, the device was recovered, and a fourteen-year-old male has been arrested and charged.

 

ASP Stacy Smith, Staff Officer

“On Tuesday, June 16^th, 2025, a twenty-year-old female visited the Orange Walk Police Station and reported that she had lost her cellphone on June 13th, which contained several nude photos of her. The female stated that someone had utilized her Facebook and Instagram accounts that were logged into on the lost cellphone to send several nude photos to her friends on those social media platforms. The police Information Technology and Cybercrime Unit of the Belize Police Department launched an investigation which resulted in the recovery of the lost cellphone and the arrest and charge of a fourteen-year-old male minor of that jurisdiction for the offence of using a computer system to publish images of a private area.”

 

It’s a stark reminder of how quickly technology can be misused—and how important digital safety really is.