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A father who called the police after he found out his 11-year-old daughter had been sending images of herself to a man online was told his child could face charges of making indecent images of children.

Police in Columbus, Ohio, say they are investigating a report their officers told the worried parent their daughter could be the one in the dock after he said she had been the victim of an “online predator”.

A video posted on TikTok shows the unidentified man talking to officers who came to his door in answer to his complaint of a man having manipulated his daughter into sending the pictures.

After opening the door, the man says: “She’s in bed now.”

A female officer says: “It still happened, though, right?”

The man says: “Yeah, yeah, yeah, the whole point, I just wanted you guys to come over and talk to her.

“I just want her to realise what this was. I mean, reality is not much I probably can do about it, is there?”

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The female officer replies: “I mean, she can probably get charged with child porn.”

The man said: “Who, she can? She’s 11 years old.”

The female officer then continues: “She’s creating it, right?”

The man says: “She’s 11 years old.”

The officer says: “Doesn’t matter. She’s still making porn.”

The man says: “No, she’s not. She’s being manipulated by a grown (expletive) adult on the internet.”

“Is she taking pictures, though?” the officers asks.

The man responds: “You guys have a nice evening.”

He heads into the house and says: “Thank you for coming.” He then turns and and adds: “Are you serious? Have a nice evening.”

It is unclear when the interaction took place, but the social media post, which had around 700,000 views by Monday afternoon, said the officers turned up six hours after the man’s call to police.

Columbus police said the city’s Department of the Inspector General “which investigates complaints of misconduct and/or excessive use of force by sworn personnel, has opened an inquiry into this incident”.

The department said it is investigating the video posted on social media “involving two officers responding to a call for service”.

Police said they regard all sexual misconduct allegations “with the utmost seriousness” and “incidents involving minors are handled with the highest degree of concern”.

They said detectives with the sexual assault unit were immediately notified and have since initiated an investigation.

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Three people critical after helicopter crash in California

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Three people critical after helicopter crash in California

Three people have been critically injured after a helicopter crash in Sacramento, according to the Californian city’s fire department.

Images from the scene show a medical helicopter lying upside down on the eastbound lanes of Highway 50.

The helicopter had taken a patient to a hospital and was returning to the place it had been dispatched from when it experienced an “in-air emergency” just after 7pm local time (3am UK time), according to Captain Justin Sylvia, from the Sacramento Fire Department.

He said there were a pilot, nurse, and paramedic on board at the time of the crash, who were taken to local hospitals in “critical condition”. Mr Sylvia said the crew consisted of two women and one man.

The helicopter could be seen lying upside down after the crash
Image:
The helicopter could be seen lying upside down after the crash

One of the women was trapped underneath the helicopter, with civilians on the highway helping the fire department to lift part of the helicopter out of the way to free the victim and get her into an ambulance.

“It took every ounce of all approximately 15 people to move that aircraft up just enough to get her out,” Mr Sylvia said at a news conference.

He added: “There’s a pretty large debris field around that at this point. The lucky portion for us, I’d say, is the fact that the helicopter did not catch on fire.”

Captain Justin Sylvia from the Sacramento Fire Department said people helped free an injured person trapped under the helicopter
Image:
Captain Justin Sylvia from the Sacramento Fire Department said people helped free an injured person trapped under the helicopter

No vehicles were involved in the crash and no one on the highway was injured, Mr Sylvia said, adding that this was “mind-blowing” given that the helicopter crashed in the centre of the road.

“People reported that they basically saw the helicopter kind of going down quickly. So all the traffic slowed down,” he explained.

Sacramento City councilwoman Lisa Kaplan said she was on a ride-along with local law enforcement responding to the crash.

Law enforcement officers stand near the wreckage of the helicopter. Pic: AP
Image:
Law enforcement officers stand near the wreckage of the helicopter. Pic: AP

She described plumes of white smoke coming out of the crashed helicopter.

“It’s really sombering and sobering. I am up flying with sheriff pilots that do this day in and day out. And it really makes you grateful for every day and grateful for our officers and our medical pilots,” she said.

The road is expected to be closed for an extended time, according to Officer Michael Harper, a spokesperson for the California Highway Patrol.

The helicopter could be seen lying on its side after the crash
Image:
The helicopter could be seen lying on its side after the crash

“The cause of the crash is still under investigation,” his colleague, Officer Mike Carillo, added.

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The helicopter appears to belong to REACH Air Medical Services, which confirmed to ABC7 that three of its crew were hurt in the crash.

The Federal Aviation Administration did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

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US Supreme Court rejects appeal request from Ghislaine Maxwell

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US Supreme Court rejects appeal request from Ghislaine Maxwell

The US Supreme Court has rejected an appeal request from Ghislaine Maxwell, the imprisoned ex-girlfriend of Jeffrey Epstein, over her criminal conviction.

Maxwell was sentenced in June 2022 to 20 years in prison after being convicted in December 2021 on sex trafficking charges.

Her lawyers argued she never should have been tried or convicted for her role in luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by Epstein.

Undated picture of Ghislaine Maxwell with Jeffrey Epstein. File pic: US Department of Justice
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Undated picture of Ghislaine Maxwell with Jeffrey Epstein. File pic: US Department of Justice

Undated picture of Ghislaine Maxwell with Jeffrey Epstein. File pic: US Department of Justice
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Undated picture of Ghislaine Maxwell with Jeffrey Epstein. File pic: US Department of Justice

The nine justices declined to take up a case that would have drawn renewed attention to the sexual-abuse saga.

US President Donald Trump and his administration, which urged the court not to accept the case, have been condemned for refusing to publicly release all the files from Epstein’s case.

Maxwell was moved from a low-security federal prison in Florida to a minimum-security prison camp in Texas after she was interviewed by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche in July.

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As usual, the justices on the highest court in the US did not explain why they turned down the appeal.

Maxwell’s legal team argued she shouldn’t have faced prosecution because of a deal that Epstein, who took his own life while in prison in 2019, made with federal prosecutors in Miami.

The 2007 agreement protected his “potential co-conspirators” from federal charges anywhere in the country, they said.

Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida with Jeffrey Epstein in 1997. Pic: Getty Images
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Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida with Jeffrey Epstein in 1997. Pic: Getty Images

Jeffrey Epstein. File pic: New York State Sex Offender Registry/AP
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Jeffrey Epstein. File pic: New York State Sex Offender Registry/AP

Maxwell was prosecuted in Manhattan, and the federal appeals court there ruled that the prosecution was proper.

A jury found her guilty of sex trafficking a teenage girl, among other charges.

Maxwell was given limited immunity when Mr Blanche interviewed her over the summer, allowing her to speak freely without fear of prosecution for anything she said except for in the event of a false statement.

She repeatedly denied seeing any sexually inappropriate interactions involving Mr Trump, according to records released in August meant to distance the president from the disgraced financer.

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As the president was arriving in the UK for his second state visit, his image was being projected on to the side of Windsor Castle alongside that of Jeffrey Epstein.

Epstein was arrested in 2019 on sex trafficking charges and was accused of sexually abusing dozens of teenage girls.

A month later, he was found dead in a New York jail cell in what investigators described as a suicide.

Maxwell’s move to a lower security facility was criticised by the family of Epstein abuse survivor Virginia Giuffre, who died in April, and accusers Annie and Maria Farmer.

Describing Maxwell as a “sexual predator who physically assaulted minor children on multiple occasions”, they said in a statement the transfer “smacks of a cover up. The victims deserve better”.

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Epstein survivors demand release of all files

When it announced in July that no additional documents from the investigation would be released, the US Justice Department declared that Epstein had killed himself, despite conspiracy theories to the contrary.

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A “client list” that US Attorney General Pam Bondi had intimated was on her desk did not actually exist, the department said.

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Donald Trump authorises deployment of 300 National Guard troops to Chicago

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Donald Trump authorises deployment of 300 National Guard troops to Chicago

Donald Trump has ordered the deployment of 300 National Guard members to Chicago, the latest in a string of cities where US troops have been sent.

White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson confirmed the US president authorised the move, citing what she called “ongoing violent riots and lawlessness” that local leaders have not quelled.

“President Trump will not turn a blind eye to the lawlessness plaguing American cities,” Ms Jackson said.

Chicago is the latest city in the US where Mr Trump has authorised the deployment of US troops, as it follows similar orders for Los Angeles, Washington and Portland.

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Democratic governor JB Pritzker branded the move unnecessary and “a manufactured performance – not a serious effort to protect public safety”.

The Illinois governor said in a statement: “This morning, the Trump administration’s Department of War gave me an ultimatum: call up your troops, or we will.

“It is absolutely outrageous and un-American to demand a governor send military troops within our own borders and against our will.”

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It comes as an attempt by the Trump administration to deploy the National Guard in Portland, Oregon, was temporarily blocked by a federal judge in a lawsuit brought by the state and city.

The plaintiffs said a deployment would violate the US constitution as well as a federal law that generally prohibits the military from being used to enforce domestic laws.

Mr Trump ordered the deployment of troops to “war-ravaged Portland” last week, authorising the use of “full force” if needed.

The move came after a gunman opened fire on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field office in Dallas, wounding two detainees and killing another.

Mr Trump sent the National Guard to Los Angeles over the summer and to Washington DC, as part of his law enforcement takeover there.

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