The Kelowna RCMP is reminding parents and caregivers
Kelowna, Integrated Child Exploitation Team
2023-11-30 14:33 PST
The Kelowna RCMP is reminding parents and caregivers to have open, honest and important conversations with their youth about the dangers of sextortion in the wake of a death by suicide of a 12-year-old in Prince George.
Sextortion is the use of coercion and threats to extort money or sexually explicit favours from someone. This coercion often occurs on social media applications and online. Cybertip.ca has great resources to learn about sextortion and has educational materials to help guide sextortion conversations with our youth and children.
Our children are increasingly using various online and texting apps including gaming, where they can communicate with people they may not know. This can potentially segue into a risk of sextortion and we must monitor their online activities
stated Cst. Mike Della-Paolera, Media Relations Officer for the Kelowna RCMP.
The RCMP are encouraging victims of sextortion to reach out for help by reporting them to police. You are a victim and you will not be in trouble for reporting
.
Reports of sextortion, for example; the practice of extorting money or sexual favours from someone by threatening to reveal evidence of their online sexual activity, increases every year in British Columbia. Sextortion is most prevalent in youth between the ages of 13 and 18. So far in 2023, the Kelowna RCMP has received over one hundred reports of online sextortion.
The Kelowna RCMP ICE Unit along with members of the Kelowna Crown Counsel Office have presented in many Grade 12 Law classes this school year, focusing on the dangers of online communications and posting intimate images online. These presentations have been positively received by both students and teachers, and demonstrate Kelowna’s collaborative commitment to addressing this increasing crime trend. These presentations will continue into the school year.
If you are the target of a sextortion attempt, we remind you to stop all communication immediately with that person and do not give in to their demands. Deactivate the accounts that you are using to communicate with that person and most importantly, reach out for help and report it. Call your local police and contact NeedHelpNow.ca and Cybertip.ca for support.
For media inquiries contact:
Cst. Mike DELLA-PAOLERA
Media Relations Officer
Kelowna RCMP
kelowna.rcmp.ca
1190 Richter Street
Office: 250-470-6361
Cell: 250-859-1470
Email: Kelowna_Media@rcmp-grc.gc.ca
Released by
Ryan Sencar
Kelowna RCMP1190 Richter St, Kelowna, British Columbia V1Y 6V7
Email: bcrcmp-grcencb@rcmp-grc.gc.ca
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