Numerous photos of teen water polo players from several South Californian high schools were posted on number of gay Web sites, a newspaper reported.

Photos of boys in swimming suit, some as young as 14, were displayed next to other photographs of nude young men and graphic sexual content, according to an Orange County Register investigation.

The result of the investigation caused upset amid parents, coaches and school officials. Some of the boys, which found out that some pictures of them were displayed on gay sites, were traumatized and are reportedly seeking counseling.

"These kids don't look at what they do as shameful," said Joan Gould, spokeswoman for a group of Orange County water polo parents.

"For someone to come in and take what these kids are doing and take it out of context and exploit these images, these kids and their schools, because you can see the school name on the caps, is just horrible."

Despite the fact that the photographs’ display angered many people, the prosecuting of the case could prove to be tricky because of First Amendment issues, said Assemblyman Jose Solorio, D-Santa Ana. However, the Assembly Public Safety Committee chairman questioned the legality of such online postings.

"With free speech and photography, there's a gray cloud in terms of what is legal, constitutional," said state Assemblyman Jose Solorio, chairman of the Assembly Public Safety Committee.

University of California, Irvine, and police said they are currently investigating whether a UCI police dispatcher was the one that made the photographs and, most important, posted them on the gay Web sites. The suspect had not been charged and he is still on duty.

"We're not exactly sure about what we have or what kinds of issues there are," Henisey said.

Through its investigation, the Register discovered on several pages of one gay porn site registered to a London address photos of players from 11 Orange County high schools plus schools in Los Angeles and San Diego counties.