[Teen Athletic Nude Photos
Laurice Whack
At least seven victims have been identified, Martin County Sheriff's Office officials said. An anonymous tip reported Alton Lee Edwards, 27, was paying students to send him nude or pornographic photos through the social media app SnapChat, a statement from sheriff's spokeswoman Christine Weiss said.
Edwards, a security guard and part-time volunteer athletics coach, was charged with seven counts of solicitation of a minor and booked into the Martin County Jail, the statement said. He was being held Sunday on $350,000 bail.
After the district received the tip, Edwards was immediately reassigned so he would have no contact with students, according to a robo-call message the Martin County School District sent to parents and staff at the school.. The district and law enforcement continue to investigate.
Cummings will have to register as a sex offender for 25 years. His sentencing is slated for May 19 to allow time for authorities to draw up an assessment to determine whether he qualifies as a sexually violent predator.
Authorities obtained search warrants for the SnapChat and Google accounts being used in the exchange and were able to trace them to a home on Woodstock Drive in Bethlehem, which they searched in August 2019. When interviewed by police, Cummings admitted to contacting the 14-year-old girl in Michigan and said he did so with other teens online.
This extortion scheme went on for several months, authorities say, and eventually Cummings began demanding money in exchange for not disseminating the images and videos. Throughout the scheme, the teen sent Cummings 127 nude images, numerous videos and $730 to prevent him from sharing the images with her friends and family.
Prosecutors agreed to the five-year prison term, noting that Melero-Luna was 17 when he received nude pictures of the teen, and 18 when he sent them back to her as part of a scheme to scare and threaten more images from her. If not for his young age, prosecutors indicated they would have sought more prison time.
Jordan DeMay, a 17-year-old from Marquette, Michigan, took his own life on March 25, 2022, after three Nigerian men pretended to be a female online and coerced DeMay to send a nude photo of himself, according to U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark Totten. When he did, the three men allegedly demanded $1,000 from him. DeMay told the men he was going to take his own life due to their mistreatment, and they responded \"good\" and \"enjoy your miserable life,\" Totten said.
\"Jordan's smile could light up any room,\" his mother, Jennifer Buda told reporters at a press conference with federal law enforcement officials on Wednesday. \"Jordan's charm and beautiful smile were contagious. Drawing people to him wherever he went and leaving a lasting impression on everyone he met.\"
\"When we were informed that Jordan was potentially a victim of an internet scam called sextortion via Instagram, there was never a hesitation in our minds to share his story,\" Buda said. \"We wanted everyone to be aware about sextortion and have those tough conversations with their families so if it did happen to them, they knew to talk to someone.\"
Three men, Samuel Ogoshi, 22, Samson Ogoshi, 20, and Ezekiel Ejehem Robert, 19, all of Lagos, Nigeria, allegedly posed as a girl on Instagram and interacted with \"hundreds\" of victims, including DeMay, according to Totten. After DeMay's death, the FBI opened an investigation, which they say led them to the three men in Nigeria. There is no lawyer listed for the men.
\"This was a multifaceted investigation that involves identifying dozens of victims following the digital breadcrumbs left behind by the sextortion is on the internet,\" Jim Tarasca, the FBI special agent in charge of the Detroit field office, said.
Sextortion, according to the FBI, is a crime in which people adopt fake identities online, coerce victims to send nude photos of themselves and then try and get the victims to pay money in exchange for a promise not to post the photos.
Over the past year, law enforcement agencies have received over 7,000 reports related to the online sextortion of minors -- resulting in at least 3,000 victims, primarily boys, according to the FBI. More than a dozen sextortion victims were reported to have died by suicide, according to the Department of Justice.
Younger victims in particular may feel ashamed of their actions, but they aren't to blame, federal officials said. Sextortion cases are on the rise, with perpetrators all over the world attempting to exploit minors, Tarasca said.
\"It's a disturbing trend that we've been seeing across the country and that, for that matter internationally, the culprits aren't just in Nigeria,\" he said. \"They are like many cyber scams, cyber base scans throughout the world from other countries. Some are right here in the United States. So it is an opportunity for people to make money.\"
If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide or worried about a friend or loved one, call the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 for free, confidential emotional support 24 hours a day, seven days a week
According to a Miller Couty Sheriff's Office detective, a 16-year-old female student of Tuscumbia High School had approached Kids Harbor Child Advocates Dec. 21. Deputies spoke to her Feb. 26, when she told them she and Rice had been "flirting" on Snapchat around May 2017, when she was a sophomore, according to the probable cause statement.
The victim said Rice requested she send nude photos of herself and, because she felt threatened if she did, the victim complied. She told investigators he sent inappropriate photos of himself to her, even though she did not ask him to do so, the document stated.
Koree T. Stewart, 19, of 58 Alaska Avenue, Whitesburg, was arrested Monday and charged with distribution of matter portraying a sexual performance by a minor (first offense) after police found nude photos of a teenage girl on his cellular phone.
Hatton said that before people decide to send nude photos of themselves they should be aware that by doing so they are committing the crime of indecent exposure, which is punishable by up to 90 days in the county jail if they are an adult or prosecution through the juvenile justice system if they are a minor.
Receiving and being in possession of pictures or videos of a nude minor is a Class D felony punishable by one to five years in prison with the possibility of having to register as a sex offender if convicted. Forwarding or distributing nude photos of a juvenile is also a Class D felony and punishable by one to five years in the penitentiary along with possible registration as a sex offender if convicted.
Blue is currently awaiting sentencing for a Clayton County case where he allegedly groped a 14-year-old girl in May 2019. He also allegedly solicited nude photos of her through Snapchat and sent her a photo of male genitalia using an assumed name, according to court records.
For over three decades, Child Lures Prevention/Teen Lures Prevention has analyzed data on the methods child molesters/sex offenders use to lure children, teens and young adults into abuse and worse. This original research, based on hundreds of interviews with convicted sex offenders and in-depth case studies, reveals 16 specific Lures -- including Affection, Authority, Bribery and Games -- which constitute the foundation of the evidence-based Think First & Stay Safe and Teen Lures TV Newscast school curricula.
Child molesters come from all economic backgrounds, geographic areas and include every ethnicity, race and creed. The sole characteristic all child molesters share is having thoughts about being sexual with children, and acting on those thoughts. These individuals actively seek access to children and the opportunity to be alone with them. Also, contrary to "Stranger Danger" warnings, child molesters are rarely strangers; at least 90% of sexually abused children are abused by someone the child and/or family knows, someone in the child's immediate or extended family, or someone close to the family.
The younger the child, the more likely their abuser is a family member. Keep in mind that family members include parents, guardians, step-parents, siblings, step-siblings, cousins, uncles, aunts and grandparents.
A U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics report* found that 23% of all sexual offenses against children were by other kids under the age of 18. There are two very important distinctions to make about juveniles using atypical or problem sexual behaviors:
As of May, 2018, there were 904,011 registered sex offenders living in the United States, according to registry data from 50 states and 6 U.S. territories, which had increased from 847,725 in Nov, 2017*. These are offenders who have been caught, convicted, served their time and are now living among us. This number does not include child molesters who are currently serving time in prison. Also, the FBI estimates that only 10-40% of sex crimes are ever reported, which means there are millions of sex offenders living in the United States, many of whom have never been reported - or caught, or convicted.
*Source: Sex Offender Registration Map, (2018), National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Also not listed on the Sex Offender Registry are juveniles under the age of 14 using atypical or problem sexual behavior (caught and adjudicated), as well as any minors using atypical or problem sexual behavior who have not been reported or adjudicated.
Internet predators use the same Lures online that are used offline. They typically target uninformed and unsuspecting youngsters to engage in virtual relationships by luring them with flattery, attention and feelings of being close to an online friend. In essence, the Affection Lure, Friendship Lure and Ego Lure are being used online. Lonely, neglected, confused and risk-taking adolescents are most vulnerable. The risk increases if they share intimate images of themselves or have inappropriate conversations.
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