Police Investigate Sexually Explicit Video Chat, Remind Parents to be Vigilant

Police are working to identify a male suspect they say has engaged in sexually explicit video chats with two students at the St. Paul School for Girls. 

The Baltimore County Police Department's Crimes Against Children Unit is investigating a complaint received regarding an unknown male who engaged in sexually explicit video chats with two teenaged girls in the Franklin Precinct, according to a news release.

One of the girls interviewed by police said that in the summer of 2012 she accepted a "friend" request, as well as video chat requests from the unknown male, police report. 

Police said the second girl accepted the request last week. Both girls told police they had opened and viewed explicit messages and entered chat rooms, where the suspect engaged them in explicit conversation, according to a news release.

The girls reported the matter to St. Paul's School for Girls, which in turn notified police.

Detectives are trying to identify the male and determine whether a crime has been committed. There is no indication that the suspect made or attempted to make physical contact with the girls, police said.

Police are reminding parents to be sure their children never accept "friend" requests from people they do not know, never open email from unfamiliar addresses, and never engage in video chat with strangers.

Police advise parents to make sure that the privacy settings on their children's social media platforms are set appropriately and strengthen these settings, if necessary.