Just recently, a photo of a little girl gagged and bound started circulating on Facebook. It was allegedly posted by her father, 21-year old Andre Curry, who also wrote “This is wut happens when my baby hits me back ;)”. Note the little smiley face, because that will come into play later on.

Due to the shocking nature of the photo, it went viral and soon garnered the attention of the police. They arrested Curry and charged him with a felony count of aggravated domestic battery. Curry has now been forbidden any contact with his daughter or any other minors, for that matter. He is also not allowed access to the internet.  His bond was set at $100,000 and he has to pay $10,000 to be released from jail.

Now, remember that smiley face I told you to take note of? Turns out, the picture had just been Curry’s idea of a joke. Obviously, several people didn’t find it funny.

According to him, his daughter had been playing with the tape when he got the idea to bind her and post the picture. Curry’s attorney said that the whole thing had just been blown out of proportion because it was posted it in the Internet.

Curry has no history of child abuse and his family is cooperating well with the ongoing investigation. According to his attorney, he cannot be charged with felony (like aggravated domestic battery, for one) unless it’s proven that the little girl had suffered any injuries from the incident. If that turns out to be the case, then the most that could be charged with is misdemeanor battery.

Curry’s Facebook account has already been removed from the site after the incident, but the photo is still circulating around the net because of those who saved it. There are several people out there who are of the opinion that even if the incident was a “joke”, it should not go unpunished and that Curry should still face charges.

However, there are also those who think that it might be a bit premature to strip the child of a father just because of a misunderstanding. Indeed, this incident just goes to show how quickly things can get out of hand when the Internet and Facebook is involved. It’s best to be safe and never post anything that could offend anybody, even if you just mean it as a ‘Joke.’