MIDDLESEX TWP, NJ – The Middlesex Township Police Department has reported that a teenage girl was a victim of ‘sextortion’ by an online acquaintance.
“An underage borough girl reported an online acquaintance threatened to share compromising photographs and videos of her without her consent. Officer Bryan Rodrigues and Detective Sergeant Thomas Falk are investigating,” police reported.
Sextortion is a growing trend in New Jersey as online scammers threaten high school-aged children saying they have compromising photos and unless they send more, they will share their photos.
The Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office this week confirmed a larger investigation is ongoing into the sextortion of dozens of children in the Jackson and Toms River areas but did not release any information about that investigation.
“Sextortion is a serious crime that occurs when someone threatens to distribute your private and sensitive material if you don’t provide them images of a sexual nature, sexual favors, or money,” and FBI agent described the crime. “They lurk in chat rooms and record young people who post or live-stream sexually explicit images and videos of themselves, or they may hack into your electronic devices using malware to gain access to your files and control your web camera and microphone without you knowing it.”
The FBI is actively investigating these sextortion crimes.