To report a colleague for this?

[BananaSushi]

Name change as don't want to be identifiable in any way.

I found out today from a client that one of my colleagues has done some porn work in the past and it's very publicly visible online (mostly photos, very explicit but nothing unpleasant if you know what I mean). I don't know how the client found it, but they did and now I'm wondering if I should let the owner of the company know in case other clients find it or in case they feel it reflects poorly on the company? It's not particularly well hidden, this colleague has a particular social media handle they use and it's in the title of the videos and photos so I assume found via search therefore anybody could in theory find and view it. It's not posted on their own sites or social profiles, it's third party sites so I assume they do not have control over how the content is distributed or whether it can be deleted although I could be wrong.

On the other hand...I've worked with this colleague for 2 years, they're great at what they do and are hard working, nobody's mentioned it before now so maybe it's never been noticed before, and I am leaving my role in the next month anyway so I feel like maybe it's unfair to bring this to the attention of the company founder? It's a small company, less than 50 employees, and I'm really not sure how this would be viewed by the company clients and whether the company would lose business over this. Plus I don't want to feel responsible if the colleague is fired as a result.

YABU = mind your own business, don't report it
YANBU = report it discreetly and let the company owner handle it

I’d be way more concerned that a client felt it appropriate to discuss porn in the first place. You say with confidence that it’s not revenge porn or photoshopped - does this mean the client actually showed you the images? If do your dilemma should be whether to inform your boss that this client showed you porn in the workplace surely?

the industry is high end professional services with very personal client relationships.

You see, this is why I'd be more bothered about the client thinking it was OK to tell me he'd seen a colleague in pornography, than report the colleague. The male client telling you this is saying to you, very clearly, that he's watching porn. It's a bit like a dog marking his territory, and it gives an indication of the way he thinks about women - not as professionals, but as sexual objects.

And I'd be worried about my colleague having had to do such work. However cool someone might be - the whole "sex work is work" bollocks, a woman rarely does pornography out of a free choice. There's always a level of compulsion - economic, or abusive relationship etc etc. My concern would be for my colleague's welfare & well-being.

What if they can't remove it? What's on the internet is generally there for good. What if it's something in their past, but they just can't actually remove it? What do they do then?

Your client might be lying then you yourself will have slandered a colleague and it might be you being formally reported.

@blankee I’m astonished so many people are saying stay out of it. A client has found recognisable porn images of a colleague of yours, so it needs to be dealt with immediately.

When did you became a self appointed moral police? You remind me of those stick in hand religious brigades driving around Saudi Arabia watching all women are wearing their veil properly and nobody is drinking alcohol.

@blankee
''I’m astonished so many people are saying stay out of it. A client has found recognisable porn images of a colleague of yours, so it needs to be dealt with immediately.''

No it doesn't.

For all you know the images could be: fake, revenge porn, something that your colleague was forced to do by a dodgy partner, taken years ago and the person has now completely changed their life.

It also comes back to the fact that the client is actively viewing porn yet you seem to think that only the person featured in the porn is doing something wrong. Double standards.

I would also question the motives of the ''client'' for doing this. He can hardly say that he is outraged from a moral point of view, since he is watching porn.

It could be that he has something against the employee and is trying to get them sacked.

If the client wants to say something, he should do it himself, not expect the OP to do his dirty work.

It sounds like the OP is being manipulated by someone who could have ulterior motives but she can't see that because she could not wait to go on a self-righteous crusade.

This! Why would you report them? The colleague will have time to delete or remove these pictures.

If I were you I would tell the colleague. It looks like the client wants to spread the news, so if there no reaction they may go to the boss anyway. Forewarned is forearmed.

How is it relevant to their job?

Honestly I don't think it's your business, the clients or your employers.

God no don’t be that person.

This. Myob

There's also form from the company owner for asking employees to remove certain content from their personal social profiles that is nothing to do with work and not offensive in any way but that goes against their personal religious beliefs (unfair but it's happened and people have complied).

So you know your boss acts unfairly, there is no compulsion on you to tell them, you could easily deny knowing about it at all, but you still want to inform them?

There have been a few high profile cases recently where trustees and employees of businesses that have a safeguarding aspect to them have been called out for hiring people who have porn of themselves online.

it is very possible that your client has looked up the names of staff online and has found these images.

If they are easily found and if your business works with clients who are charities or in some other way publicly linked to something like child safeguarding/NHS etc then they may feel they have just cause to raise it as a due diligence measure.

How mean of you!! This is someone’s living and could mean they can’t pay their rent/mortgage. When it comes to things like this, you need to think whether this affects you personally. I suspect the answer is no so bog off. She may get found out one day but don’t be the twat that tells on her fgs.

If it's that easy to find haven't you thought that your employer knows but doesn't care ?

If you report it, they could lose their job for something that for all you know, they could desperately regret. The internet is permanent unfortunately, once something is out there it is out there. I wouldn't say anything about it unless I had too.

@BananaSushi I don't know how the client found it.

I would have looked at the client in the eyes and asked: "How did you find out?".

^^What a creep, honestly.

Did the client tell you with the expectation you'd pass it on? How did they leave it with you?

What she has done in the past is no concern to you.

If any of your clients find it, they obviously don’t have a problem with porn.

And how do you think the client found it in the first place? 🙄

Utterly astonished by the vitriol on here and the accusations and name calling levelled at me. I have done literally NOTHING except ask a question here and true to form, the MN vipers are out in force.

For the posters who gave genuinely sensible and constructive comments, thank you.

For the petty, name calling posters who managed to hoist their own judgy pants up extra high, if you actually read my OP you'd know that

a) genders of the people involved here were not revealed and this was done deliberately (several posts here are making false gender assumptions that are based on nothing I wrote)

b) I never judged my colleague and in fact only made positive comments about them. All the judgement here has only happened here on this thread, and weirdly, towards me when I haven't done a single thing in this scenario - I have not been mean, a bitch, a cunt or any of the other charming words that have been thrown at me

This.
Perhaps by her having the option to change her nickname on her ordinary social media she might be able to keep her "ordinary" accounts separate, if indeed she wants to.

If its a man - report them, men and pornography, yuk
If its a woman mind your own business.

Just because the client found it doesn't mean he was setting out to watch porn. Inappropriate content can crop up on searches for the oddest of reasons and if this persons name is recognisde

Why different if a man