Marietta teenager threatened with sexual blackmail at school

MARIETTA, Georgia – Federal and local law enforcement agencies are warning about criminals who are after money from your children.

The most recent case occurred in Marietta, where police say a mother reached out to the public asking for the story to be made public after her teenager was threatened for money.

“I can't imagine the fear this child is in,” said Ofc. Chuck McPhilamy of the Marietta Police Department.

The teen was on the clock and panicked during school. The mother wrote to police after an unknown person sent her child a message on Instagram with a photoshopped nude picture.

“Using a deepfake photo, the child was tricked into believing they now had nude photos of him and was threatened with sharing them with all of his friends if he didn't send money,” McPhilamy said.

Three hundred dollars for a fake photo that didn't include them. Even though the teen blocked the sender, more money came to her phone from an iCloud email.

“Messages came with a countdown saying that if you didn't send money, all of these photos would be published within this time period. It was a very scary situation,” McPhilamy said.

The mother said the teen went to the office to report the incident to his parents and school staff, after which an investigation was launched. The main thing police praised the teen for was that he never contacted the sender and reported the incident immediately.

“This is what the victims are seeing, especially the 17- to 19-year-olds. We're seeing 13-year-olds. We've even seen it sometimes with 7- or 9-year-olds,” said Tony Thomas, an FBI spokesman in Georgia.

Officials fighting these crimes said that more boys are now victims of sexual blackmail than before. In Georgia, the number of cases of sexual blackmail is constantly increasing.

“It has been increasing every year since 2021. The number of sextortion cases in Georgia has increased by 700%,” Thomas said.

The number of reports in the state increased from 21 in 2021 to 196 in 2023.

“Our special agents have told me we are on track to exceed that number this year,” Thomas said.

Despite the dramatically increasing numbers, extortion crimes are not reported sufficiently, according to Thomas.

“The statistics we have are probably significantly higher in real life because children are actually afraid,” Thomas said.

According to law enforcement, this feeling is normal. However, police also point out that teens need to feel comfortable reaching out to an adult, be it their parents, teachers or the police.

In most cases, the perpetrators are in another state or even outside the country.

1. This can happen to anyone (children and adults) anywhere.
2. These criminals may not even know you and could be anywhere in the world.
3. It happens to boys as well as girls.
4. Parents need to talk to their children and tell them how to prevent it and what to do if it happens to them or one of their friends.
5. Thanks to technological advances and artificial intelligence, it is possible that the photos are real, but maybe not.
6. Demands for money usually do not go away.
7. Remind children never to send nude pictures, but also remind them that you are there to help them.
8. This happens more often than most people think.

Marietta police said that while they hope something like this never happens to your family, they would be happy to help if needed. They appreciate the courage she had to share her experience so others are aware.