Woodbury Officials Warn Of Rising Cases Of Child Sextortion In MN

WASHINGTON COUNTY, MN— Washington County Attorney Pete Orput and Woodbury Department of Public Safety Chief Lee Vague announced Wednesday that there has been a recent spike in the number of "sextortion" cases involving children in Minnesota, the county attorney's office said.

Sextortion is defined as "the act of extorting a victim after they share intimate sexual photographs or videos," the office said.

Multiple cases of sextortion are currently under investigation by the Woodbury Department of Public Safety, the office said.

“Juvenile online exploitation is an enormous and increasing threat," Imran Ali, assistant criminal division chief and director of the Special Victim Division, said. "Social media continues to present opportunities for predators to groom and exploit our children. Parents should talk to their children to ensure that they never speak to a strangers or disclose any private information including sending any photographs. As technology trends evolve, so does the behavior of these predators. A simple conversation with your child can stop them in their tracks.”

The office said when a child is a victim of sextortion, it is usually after they accept a request from an unknown user, whom the child believes is their age. The child is then in many cases coerced into sending sexually explicit photos and threatened with the photo being leaked if they don't send the user money, the office said.

“Parents should take the time to discuss the real threats that exist in the social media world," John Altman, Woodbury Department of Public Safety police commander, said. "Particularly during the pandemic, when kids are separated from their friends in person, the lure of new acquaintances can be tempting. It is important for kids to know who their friends are, and a good rule of thumb is to limit social media friends to verifiable people. Consider reviewing your children’s social media friends list with them and ask how they know the people that are in their online circle.”