Child pornography and extortion cases on the rise in Jackson County

Jackson County Sheriff’s Department is seeing an increase in child pornography and extortion cases.

Just last month, the department received ten reports on social media platforms, the main one being Snapchat.

Fake accounts are used to befriend kids under 18. The account starts a relationship with the kids and eventually asks for nude photos.

After photos are sent, the account blackmails the kids, threatening to release the nude photos to friends and family if money isn’t paid.

Sheriff Mike Ezell found out that most of the fake accounts are from overseas, making it nearly impossible to track down the suspects. “Parents, know who your kids are talking to. You know there’s all sorts of secret chat rooms, they tell me on this stuff. You just gotta be prepared to sit down with your kids and talk to them and explain the dangers of this. Think about this stuff before you start sending yourself all over the world wide web because once it is out there, it ain’t coming back.”

Sheriff Ezell says you can report this crime to the sheriff’s office, which is confidential, and they will try their best to help.