'Swirl face' jailed for three months!

Praxius

Mass'Debater
Dec 18, 2007
10,609
99
48
Halifax, NS & Melbourne, VIC
I always love it when reports keep bringing up how he was originally identified:

"He sparked a worldwide Interpol manhunt when German police were able to digitally unscramble internet photos of him sexually abusing boys in Southeast Asia."

Digitally Unscramble?

Other reports noted "German Experts" and such.

What he used was a very basic Photoshop Filter Effect that anybody and their dog could do.... as well as undo.

Filters>Distort>Twirl

Move the slide bar all the way to one side to rotate the image into a swirl.

How to you fix it?

Filters>Distort>Twirl

Move the slide bar all the way to the other side to rotate the image back to it's original position.

I did this in college once while learning the basics of the program and not only could I undo the procedure easily, but the image was restored to the exact pixel to what it looked like when I opened the file.

I always wondered what these experts did to restore the image because it looks like they didn't get it exactly right.

They got it right enough to identify him, but still not exact and I wonder how long it took them to restore it with whatever procedure they used when such a simple option in Photoshop can do it for you in 2 seconds or less.

I still remember when this whole thing broke the news and they showed the image unswirled on the news & how they talked about their masterful success in identifying the guy from a photo that looked unfixable.

I just shook my head and kind of laughed.

I'm glad they found the guy, but if the officials actually handed this photo off to anybody with a shred of Photoshop experience, they would have had the guy in custody within hours.
 

tay

Hall of Fame Member
May 20, 2012
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B.C. Corrections says high-risk sex offender Christopher Neil has chosen to live in Vancouver when he completes his 5½-year sentence this summer.

"Public safety is B.C. Corrections' top priority. To this end, we are issuing a public notification about Christopher Neil," wrote corrections spokesperson Cindy Rose.

"Privacy laws prevent us from providing details beyond those included in the public notification. However, we want the public to be aware of this individual's presence in the community."

Neil, 42, was nicknamed Swirl Face for the way he obscured his image in photos of him sexually abusing young boys in Southeast Asia. He was sentenced in June 2016 and had 14 months time behind bars remaining.

His release comes with 18 court-ordered conditions, which include:

  • No contact directly or indirectly with any person under the age of 16.
  • Not to engage in any activity that involves contact with persons under the age of 16 years, including via a computer.
  • Not to be on the property of near any place where persons under 16 might be, including parks, playgrounds, school grounds, and community centres.
  • Not to direct any person to possess, use or access any electronic device or computer system on his behalf.
Anyone who sees Neil violating any of these conditions is asked to contact police.

Neil had pleaded guilty to five charges laid in 2013, including counts under Canada's rarely used child-sex tourism laws.

The province's Criminal Justice Branch said the guilty pleas pertained to two charges of sexual interference involving two boys under the age of 14 in Cambodia in 2003, one charge of possessing child pornography in Maple Ridge in 2007, and two charges of accessing child pornography in Vancouver in 2013 and 2014.

'Swirl face' pedophile Christopher Neil to live in Vancouver - British Columbia - CBC News
 

Danbones

Hall of Fame Member
Sep 23, 2015
24,505
2,197
113
I always love it when reports keep bringing up how he was originally identified:

"He sparked a worldwide Interpol manhunt when German police were able to digitally unscramble internet photos of him sexually abusing boys in Southeast Asia."

Digitally Unscramble?

Other reports noted "German Experts" and such.

What he used was a very basic Photoshop Filter Effect that anybody and their dog could do.... as well as undo.

Filters>Distort>Twirl

Move the slide bar all the way to one side to rotate the image into a swirl.

How to you fix it?

Filters>Distort>Twirl

Move the slide bar all the way to the other side to rotate the image back to it's original position.

I did this in college once while learning the basics of the program and not only could I undo the procedure easily, but the image was restored to the exact pixel to what it looked like when I opened the file.

I always wondered what these experts did to restore the image because it looks like they didn't get it exactly right.

They got it right enough to identify him, but still not exact and I wonder how long it took them to restore it with whatever procedure they used when such a simple option in Photoshop can do it for you in 2 seconds or less.

I still remember when this whole thing broke the news and they showed the image unswirled on the news & how they talked about their masterful success in identifying the guy from a photo that looked unfixable.

I just shook my head and kind of laughed.

I'm glad they found the guy, but if the officials actually handed this photo off to anybody with a shred of Photoshop experience, they would have had the guy in custody within hours.

you really don't know much about it do you:

"NOTE

Photoshop only lets you undo changes back to the point when you first opened the document you’re working on, meaning you can’t close a document and then undo changes you made before you closed it."
https://www.safaribooksonline.com/library/view/photoshop-cc-the/9781491905593/ch01s03.html
DUH!
 

Kreskin

Doctor of Thinkology
Feb 23, 2006
21,155
149
63

Danbones

Hall of Fame Member
Sep 23, 2015
24,505
2,197
113
not on a straight jpg they don't
but hey:
post it if you find it
:)

you'll save a lot of UFO people a lot of time and trouble sorting fakes when you do
 

Kreskin

Doctor of Thinkology
Feb 23, 2006
21,155
149
63
Maybe it's not available on CNET, similar to the FBI's iphone crack.