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An upstate New York middle schooler is facing child sex charges in a sick sextortion scheme that may have ensnared hundreds of young victims, police said Wednesday.
Police in Stony Point in Rockland County said six alleged victims came forward during a months-long investigation into the sordid scam. The young boys were allegedly coerced into supplying explicit images of themselves — then forced to send either more pictures or retail gift cards to keep the images from being made public.
“They were requested for pictures, videos of themselves, to be sent and then they were requested that if they didn’t send more that the pictures and videos would be sent to their friend groups,” Stony Point Det. Andrew Kryger said, according to ABC7 Eyewitness News.
The student at Fieldstone Middle School, who was not identified because of his age, allegedly posed as a girl online and convinced the male victims to send the X-rated images, the outlet said. The pint-sized perp either demanded more explicit photos of the boys or gift cards that were less than $100 — while threatening to send the pics to their pals.
Cops, who said the suspect and the alleged victims are all under 16, launched the investigation in February after six students confided in a school resource officer.
“A lot of these cases, they end up out of the state, out of the country mostly, so it was a little unusual and troubling,” Kryger said.
The accused culprit was identified by police but was out of the country at the time — and was finally arrested last week after returning home, according to the outlet.
“This case highlights both the serious dangers our children face online and the extraordinary bravery of students who came forward,” police said in a statement to lohud.com.
“This crime is extremely serious and involves the victimization of students within our community,” the statement said. “Police officials stress that sextortion is not only a local issue, but a global problem fueled by social media. Many parents may be unaware of the extent of these dangers.”
Fieldstone is a regional middle school with about 1,300 students.
Police are urging anyone who was caught in the scam to call police at 845-786-2422.
“Please encourage your children to come forward because there is certainly no shame in coming forward and bringing this to a trusted adult, so please let us know, let a trusted adult know,” North Rockland Central School District Superintendent Kris Felicello said in a statement.
The suspect was charged with use of a child in a sexual performance and promoting a sexual performance by a child and is due back in court.
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