The image shows a boy. It’s hard to estimate the age, but a young boy. He’s wearing a pink elementary school uniform shirt and is clearly standing in a school setting. In some his face is visible, a sad face, one that may have been crying. In others it has been obscured, but even in that case his posture, his bearing, tell of a boy who is unhappy.

Pinned to his shirt is a computer-printed sign that has his name and the legend, "I am a Liar and a Thief."

In the last week the picture has exploded across Facebook, being poisted and reposted, and onto other social media sites. The story behind the photo is not clear, although the hundreds of comments it has engendered are suggestive.

Suggestive enough that the V.I. Department of Education is urging people to stop posting the picture and remove it from the pages both for the sake of the boy and of the school system.

"While I certainly understand the concern and outrage that has been generated by this image, it is also important for the community to understand that posting, re-posting, and forwarding the image, even edited versions, may be negatively affecting the student and his family," Education Commissioner Donna Frett-Gregory said in a statement issued Sunday. "I urge all who have posted this image of this child on their social media pages to remove the photo as soon as possible – whatever your intention, even if to bring awareness or discourage this type of action, it is still not acceptable for our students to be exposed in this way."

Comments are divided, with a small handful suggesting that it’s a just punishment for the alleged offense, but the vast majority saying it’s never appropriate to hold a student up for public humiliation.

Others comments suggest the student was not guilty of anything except bad manners. According to these posts, the boy had said something that caused a teacher or administrator to punish him in this manner.

How the picture got taken and then posted to the Internet in the first place is another question, one which the department is looking into, Frett-Gregory said.

"I also want to assure the community that we are working aggressively to investigate and resolve this matter. Acts such as these are not condoned nor accepted by the department. We appreciate the community’s concern and cooperation," she said.