SOUTHBORO, Mass. — Southboro Police are warning local teens and parents of online extortion after receiving “multiple” reports of these incidents, the police chief said Monday.
Southboro Police Chief Ryan Newell estimated the department knows of at least four victims of online extortion over the past few months.
“Enough that it was recognized as a growing trend/problem,” Newell said in an email to Boston 25.
Sextortion is a crime that happens online when an adult convinces a person who is younger than 18 to share sexual pictures or perform sexual acts on a webcam, according to the FBI.
“It has been reported, more than once, in Southborough- which is why we want to be proactive in talking about it, spreading awareness, and providing you with some available resources,” Southboro Police said in a July 5 post on its Facebook page, aiming to spread awareness of the growing problem.
Newell said Monday that no criminal charges have been filed at this time related to the cases in Southboro.
But the police chief said he hopes increasing awareness about the issue may help prevent additional cases.
“We hope that by shining a spotlight on this issue that parents will sit down and have these important conversations with their teenagers,” Newell said. “We want to do our best in making sure that there are no more victims- especially after some teenagers have taken drastic measures to escape the possible embarrassment/harassment they are being threatened with.”
Sextortion can start on any site, app, messaging platform, or game where people meet and communicate, according to the FBI. In some cases, the first contact from the criminal will be a threat. The person may claim to already have a revealing picture or video of a child that will be shared if the victim does not send more pictures. More often, however, this crime starts when young people believe they are communicating with someone their own age who is interested in a relationship or with someone who is offering something of value.
After the criminals have one or more videos or pictures, they threaten to publish that content, or they threaten violence, to get the victim to produce more images, according to the FBI.
“The shame, fear, and confusion children feel when they are caught in this cycle often prevents them from asking for help or reporting the abuse,” the FBI states on its website. “Caregivers and young people should understand how the crime occurs and openly discuss online safety.”
Newell said police are appealing to the public to spread awareness about this online danger.
*We had recognized that this was becoming a reoccurring issue/threat after multiple incidents had been reported to our department,” Newell said. “And (after researching this trend on a national level), we wanted to make sure parents knew about this and discussed it with their teens so that we did not have any more victims- especially after realizing that some of the victims (nationally) felt that suicide was their only way out.”
If young people are being exploited, they are the victim of a crime and should report it, authorities said. Contact your local police department, your local FBI field office, call 1-800-CALL-FBI, or report it online at tips.fbi.gov.
In Southboro, people wishing to report sextortion may call police at 508-485-2121 or contact Detectives Steve Neivert at sneivert@southboroughma.com or Keith Nichols at knichols@southboroughma.com.
“Please talk to your children, teenagers, nieces, nephews, and/or other loved ones who could be affected by this crime,” police said in their earlier Facebook post. “It is so important.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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