There’s another cyber threat going around and it’s called “sextortion” ( the action of blackmailers finding, taking and/or using compromising photos or videos of people to extort them into doing something for the blackmailer (usually something sexual). The blackmailer will typically threaten to send the photos or videos to the victim’s friends and family or worse if they do not comply).
This is what happened to a Cheshire, CT teen a few weeks ago when he met a woman online that wasn’t interested in chatting, she wanted him to Skype with her instead. She convinced him to fondle himself during their Skype video session and recorded him without his consent.
“He didn’t know that she was recording it on her end,” said Det. Sgt. Tom Bobok, “She contacted him later saying that if he did not pay her a sum of $350, she was going to release that video to his list of contacts.”
Sextorting is a new crime for Connecticut Sexual Assault Crisis Services, Last year,” the state legislature passed a law that will now require schools K-12 to teach child sexual abuse and sexual assault awareness prevention education,” said Jillian Gilchrest, director of public policy and communication.”
The woman is nowhere to be found and unfortunately this teen might also see some charges, since sending any underage sexual images or video over the internet is considered child pornography.
“Because of his age, it is child pornography. Even if he’s the one that was sending it and even if it is of himself, it is child pornography,” said Bobok. “Does the kid really need, despite his embarrassment, to be arrested? We haven’t made that call yet.”
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