German paper admits running topless photo of 13-year-old girl

A major German newspaper admits it ran a naked photo of a 13-year-old girl on its front page as part of a contest to find the country's "hottest summer girl." Germany's largest-circulation newspaper, the tabloid Bild, which routinely places nude photos of women on its front page, has admitted that it published a topless photo of a 13-year-old girl.

On August 8, 2003, as part of a reader contest seeking the "hottest girl of summer," the newpaper ran a topless photo of "Melanie from Leipzig." Generally, the newspaper includes the age of the models it uses on its front page, but on that date, it was conspicuously absent. SPIEGEL has learned that, at the time the photo was taken, the girl was only 13. [...]

Bild said it has removed the image from its archive in order to ensure that it would not be published again. In 2003, the paper ran the photograph next to a short text that read: "Hot Bitsy, this summer is becoming a catwalk for naked children. The sun is stroking our beautiful women in their birthday suits more beautifully than ever before. Melanie from Leipzig, too, just can't keep her clothes on in this heat. Do your clothes slip off in this desert heat, too? BILD is seeking the hottest summer girl. Send us your beat the heat photos."

source: 'German Paper Admits Running Topless Photo of 13-Year-Old Girl'; www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,557417,00.html; Spiegel Online (dsl/spiegel); 3 June 2008