02/05/2026
Public Announcement from the Red Lake Department of Public Safety.
The Red Lake Police Department wants to make the community aware and safe by notification to our Tribal Members about cases in juvenile sextortion cases. These cases involve the offender obtaining sexually explicit material from minors, and then extorting them for money. An example of a sextortion scheme would be a minor meeting a person online, and this person and the minor then engaging in sexually explicit chats and exchanging images and/or videos. The suspect then threatens to send the files to family members or the public if they do not pay. Even after payment, the suspect often continues to request more money. These schemes typically lead back to foreign countries and are difficult to prosecute. Unfortunately, Investigators are seeing cases in which minors are falling victims to the scam and are paying the suspects without their family’s knowledge. Please speak with your children about the dangers on the internet. This could occur from social media such as Facebook, Instagram, snap chat, Tik Tok, and on-line gaming, etc.
Sextortion is a form of child sexual exploitation where children are threatened or blackmailed, most often with the possibility of sharing with the public a n**e or sexual images of them, by a person who demands additional sexual content, sexual activity or money from the child. This crime may happen when a child has shared an image with someone they thought they knew or trusted, but in many cases, they are targeted by an individual they met online who obtained a sexual image from the child through deceit, coercion, or some other method. In many cases, the blackmailers may have stolen or taken images of another person and they are communicating through a fake account. The blackmailer may have sent images as well.
Sextortion Awareness
Predators acquire images from children and then they threaten to release the compromising material unless the victim sends additional images, money or gift cards. Often the predators demand payment through a variety of peer-to-peer payment applications. In many cases, however, predators release the images even if payments are made. The shame, fear, and confusion that victims experience when they are caught in this cycle often prevents them from asking for help or reporting the abuse.
What can parents do?
Keeping an open line of communication with your child is the best defense. Young people need know about sextortion and need to understand where the risks are hiding. Explain to children that predators can pretend to be anyone or anything online. A stranger can reach out to them with bad intent. Most importantly, no matter what an application claims, nothing “disappears” online. Whoever takes a photo or video, it always has the potential to become public.
Get involved and actively participate in your children’s digital lives.
Regular check-ins about online interactions.
Encourage open communication about online experiences and any concerns.
Discuss the danger of cyberbullying and how to handle it.
Monitor app downloads and usage to ensure they are age appropriate.
Teach kids about privacy and the importance of not sharing personal information.
Please notify Law Enforcement if you encounter this type of Crime. 218-679-3313.
