Copyright Law?

Hi! I am going to be incredibly vulnerable here, and I really hope for redirection with kindess in any replies.
I am at a loss with zero resources.

I am a small adult creator on Fansly, just past 1.2k followers. It has become everything I love doing, outside of school and being in a relationship. It’s my own little home that I create comfort and express healing from my sexual trauma in.

I was recently told that my content is being illegally copied and allegedly resold with photographic evidence of this occurring. I really need some guidance towards resources, or any advice that might help me move forward in this situation. There is a lot of context and changing information, so I’m going to try and keep this as direct as possible. ????

Location: IL, USA

Someone I was acquaintances with YEARS ago in real life (and haven’t spoken to since) got caught by his girlfriend saving my NSFW, copyrighted, and paywalled photos.

She provided pictures of his phone with my NSFW photos on them, including UI options like “Save”, “Delete”, including “Add” on the screen. I have written confirmation that these photos were not being viewed on the platform Fansly, from Fansly Support.

She mentioned several things happening with my content.

-First: she claimed her boyfriend (by legal first and last name) was saving my pictures. She sent me pictures of a phone with ALL of my content saved on it. There are about a thousand pieces of media in total from my highest subscription tier.

-Second: she claimed her boyfriend was involving “kids” to some capacity. She mentioned a local high school by name (in which I did not attend). For context, we are all at least 24 years old and have been out of high school for years. The way she said KIDS.. just really rubbed me the wrong way, and made me feel incredibly uncomfortable and disgusted.

-Third: she claimed that there was at least another, third person involved. She claimed that she did not know their last name, but gave me a first name (although based off of this information, I know that she was friends with this person back then; she was withholding information.)

-Fourth: she claimed that my content was being redistributed/sold by her boyfriend and another person. She did not provide physical evidence or proof of this happening. I only have her word.

She reached out to me under an account with her first and middle legal name. I do not believe she understood that I knew exactly who she was when she messaged me from an otherwise blank profile.

Hours after she originally reached out, the boyfriend sent me messages from a private, unnamed profile. He has changed the username of this account and deleted new messages sent to me several times.

The girlfriend never sent another message to me after saying she’d follow up, and has since changed the username of her profile and deactivated the account.

I have screenshots of EVERYTHING. All deleted messages, all usernames linking back to the same accounts, the photos I was sent, etc. I haven’t let a single thing slip.

All around, I’ve been thrown into this situation that seemingly was just an argument between them on a bad day. She knows more details than she’s willing to share. It seems like she was trying to throw her boyfriend under the bus, rather than protect the KIDS she brought up, for gods sake, or myself or my dignity as an adult creator.

I filed a police report the same day she told me this information. A detective was assigned to my case after, and he has been extremely dismissive, irritated by questions, and is NOT investigating a theft/other crime. He said, quote, “I’m only concerned about the kids aspect of this situation. Anything outside of that is not in my control.” Which is incredible, and I pray to GOD that no minors are involved. I do not know how I would continue to do my job if this is the case. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.

However, I am a victim of a crime as well, and the detective has shut down ANY chance of a charge outside of investigating potential children involved. Nothing was done to protect me.

3 weeks after reporting the incident, the detective spoke with the boyfriend. He (obviously) deleted everything from his phone. He said he didn’t even know who I am. He plans on speaking to the girlfriend this week, and I have zero faith in her speaking about the truth.

I have been told repeatedly by the detective that if they do not speak or admit to anything, he cannot investigate my case any further. That will be it. Based on only their word.

I’m sick to my stomach about how this is being handled so carelessly. I have no help and have been given no resources.

Is the information I brought him, including photographic evidence that my content is being saved, actually not enough to justify a charge or to issue a subpoena to these accounts?

The officer I filed a report with said the charges would be theft and disorderly conduct. The detective laughed in my face when I brought these charges up to him to follow up on what the charges against the boyfriend would be.

I feel insane. I reported a crime with evidence and names. The detective claims he does not have the authority to put a name to these profiles to prove that it was indeed these people behind the accounts. Is this true??

I understand that I don’t have the world’s best grasp on what choices are within the detectives reach. If I am incorrect about something, please correct me gently!!! I have not been through something like this before with someone I knew of, and I am an unprepared mess, at best.

I am sorry for including so much context; there are many working parts to this situation and I don’t entirely know what’s important to include or not.

What I want to get out of this is:
1. I want him and all parties involved charged, and a restraining order against these people (including the girlfriend, if possible).
2. What the hell would the bf even be charged with?! I have been given zero consistent information, along with being told that there ARE no charges that can be used against him regarding theft (or anything of the sort).
3. I have been told that some of my concerns can only be addressed through civil court. I fully understand that. But the lack of.. any information that can protect me is very unsettling.
The other biggest issue I run into here? Lawyer fees. I am a college student and a part time creator. There are minimal resources available online for pro bono work. I hope for any advice pertaining to even GETTING a pro bono attorney in the first place.

I have been told that some of my concerns can only be addressed through civil court. I fully understand that. But the lack of.. any information that can protect me is very unsettling.

Reddit, am I cooked? Do I take the loss and try to forget about all of this? Is there anything out there for people that go through adult content theft? Do I have any choices? What the hell would this do to my pockets?

Everything inside of me wants to fight back legally. I have a few thousand to my name and would use every last cent of it to protect my work and dignity.

Clearly not the smartest choice, clearly incredibly impulsive, and clearly not sustainable, but I truly feel the need to defend myself from this BS to the fullest extent possible.

Thank you for coming along for this ride! I am at a loss. Anything at all would be helpful.