‘Report this crime’: Sextortion cases on the rise in Northeast Ohio
STREESTBORO, Ohio (WJW) – The FOX 8 I-Team has found a growing number of people falling victim to a scam threatening to expose secret, private pictures unless they pay money. The scam, known as sextortion, is ruining lives.
“The predators are still out there,” said Streetsboro Police Chief Patricia Wain. “They are still targeting people.”
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Law enforcement officials say sextortion is an online crisis that is targeting teenagers.
The crime caused a Streetsboro family to tragically lose their son in November 2022. Officials say 17-year-old James Woods died by suicide. Woods a victim of sextortion.
Streetsboro police and federal officials are still investigating Woods’ case.
According to the FBI, from October 2021 to March 2023 the FBI and Homeland Security received more than 13,000 reports of online financial sextortion of minors. Federal officials also noted that in the six-month period from October 2022 to March 2023, there was at least a 20% increase in reporting of financially motivated sextortion incidents involving minor victims compared to the same time the previous year.
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“I do believe it is increasing,” Wain said. She added that from January 2023 to March of this year her department had 10 sextortion reports filed. Some of the victims are juveniles and some adults.
While police believe the suspect in Woods case and the suspects of a lot of the sextortion cases live overseas, officers have also noticed an uptick in cases where the suspect is local.
“With all the social media, it is a big problem,” said Perkins Township Detective Joseph Rotuno.
Rotuno recently arrested 21-year-old Brayden Hawkins of Sandusky, who they say is accused of stealing and “weaponizing” the social media accounts of dozens of teenage girls.
“He would get into their accounts and take the pictures,” Rotuno said. “He would then say, ‘If you don’t send me more nudes or don’t take a video, I am going to post this nude for everyone to see.’”
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Rotuno says there are more than 30 victims.
According to Hawkins’ indictments filed in Erie County Common Pleas Court in March, he is facing numerous charges, including extortion, and identity theft.
He is also facing a count of pandering obscenity involving a minor or impaired person, a fourth-degree felony, a charge investigated by Sandusky Police Officer Ronta Hill.
Police tell us both a phone number and an email address connected to an Instagram account they believe is owned by Hawkins was allegedly used to distribute child pornography.
Officers hope the indictment sends a strong message.
“We want to try and prevent that from happening again,” Hill said.
The Streetsboro police chief also urges anyone who falls victim to this type of crime to come forward.
“Please report this crime, go to a trusted adult,” Wain said.
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