US police criticised after releasing 13 images in appeal to identify unconcious women

Photographs were found after police raided a home in the area earlier this year

The police department has been criticised for sharing the images of the women online (Windermere Police department)

A US police force has been heavily criticised after releasing a number of photographs of women either passed out or sleeping over fears they could be possible victims of sexual assault.

Windermere Police department, Florida, released 13 images of nine women they found while searching the home of a man under investigation for sexual assault in May. Officers had hoped the public may be able to help identify the women and ensure they were not attacked.

However, after an outcry over the images the department has taken down more than half, leaving five still publically available on their official Facebook page.

A number of the women had been identified to police, department Chief Dave Ogden said in a statement on Wednesday.

“Out of courtesy for the women identified we ask that you remove those photos and bulletins from your social networking sites that we provided you yesterday and refer to this page for updated accurate information.”

Criminal justice professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and former police officer Tim Maher said the department’s decision was unprecedented - but he acknowledged the police may have had to grapple with information unavailable to the public.

“They might have weighed the potential harm they’d cause against the harm they’re trying to avoid," he told the Washington Post.

The photos were found during a raid on Darryl Patterson’s home. He was accused by one unidentified woman of attempted sexual assault with another woman making a similar allegation soon afterwards.

He has not been arrested or charged but remains under investigation, according to Windermere police.

The US police force has not commented on whether the women in the 13 photographs, reportedly taken between 2008 and 2013, were assaulted.

Shortly after the release of the images Chief Ogden added: “The possibilities are these people could not be alive. We're not sure. We certainly don't believe that they're safe, so we just want to make sure. We want to check on that”.

A number of the women have subsequently been identified with a police statement confirming they were “safe at this time”.