The Federal Bureau of Investigation has reported a large increase in child exploitation cases involving children and teens who have been threatened or coerced by adults into sending explicit images of themselves online. It’s a crime known as sextortion, and it can start on any site, app or game where people meet and communicate.

There are cases that being reported throughout New York, and locally in the West Genesee Central School District, at least six students have come forward to report being a victim.

Gayle Mallore, a high school social worker at West Genesee, said kids are desperate for connection, often turning to social media to find it. When they learned it wasn’t genuine, it’s difficult for youth to shrug it off or be rational. Some consider suicide, she said. Mallore said your child’s life is more important than their privacy and advises consistently checking their phones and social media accounts.

“When it comes to a child grappling with something so serious as taking their life because they’re not able to make a decision on how to manage the seriousness of something like this. They don’t know how to, they don’t. Their brain doesn’t stop developing until they’re 25,” said Mallore.

Coming forward isn’t easy, especially when dealing with what can be an embarrassing situation, school leaders said.

In West Genesee, Mark Flint, a school resource officer, said he worked hard to build a rapport with students for precisely this type of incident, and helped to lead several teenage boys to tell him they were being extorted over social media for sharing compromising photos of themselves.

“They were asked for pictures. They shared them, and then they were blackmailed or extorted, stating ‘we’re going to send these to friends or family if you don’t give us money.’ I was amazed that they felt comfortable enough with me to share that information being that it’s so, well, embarrassing for them. But it was very, very big of them to do so, and it’s vital to our investigations,” said Flint.

What You Need To Know

  • Sextortion is a crime involving children who have been threatened and coerced by adults into sending explicit images of themselves online

  • Sextortion can start on any website, app or game where people meet and communicate

  • Locally, Camillus and Manlius Police are investigating several cases of child sextortion, a problem that is growing on a national level

Capt. James Nightingale with the Camillus Police Department sounded the alarm when Flint brought the cases forward. He says this is a nationwide problem of children being tricked into sharing nude photos of themselves and facing blackmail. He wants other victims to come forward and for parents to step up to protect their kids.

“My message to the parents: if you’re paying for the phone, you dictate the rules. This is how it is and I understand kids want their privacy, but the privacy sadly could lead to a lot of mental health problems. It can lead to having social issues and, God forbid, something like this that happens that could absolutely ruin their lives forever,” said Nightingale.

“The number one thing is to communicate because if we don’t know, we can’t help and that’s what we want to do. We’re here to help you. We’re here to help you thrive in school and for your future,” said Flint.

Camillus Police Department urges other victims to come forward through their tip site or by calling 315-487-0102.

Nationwide, the FBI has its own campaign to stop sextortion. You can call 1-800-CALL-FBI or go to tips.fbi.gov.