GRAND ISLAND, N.Y. — The Grand Island Central School District is investigating a situation where female students at the high school and middle school are being threatened and asked to share nude photos of themselves.
Superintendent Brian Graham sent a message to parents informing them of the situation and letting them know law enforcement is investigating.
According to the FBI, "sextortion is a serious crime that occurs when someone threatens to distribute your private and sensitive material if you don’t provide them images of a sexual nature, sexual favors, or money."
Graham told 2 On Your Side Friday night there are at least three victims at this time.
"It is my understanding that this person is contacting our students using TikTok and then directing them to SnapChat or Instagram. The person is using threatening language if the child does not comply," Graham said in the message to parents.
Graham has asked parents to talk to their children about the situation.
"We don't yet know, who this person is, that is making this attempt to exploit kids, but I'm confident that working with the New York State Police and any other agencies that this perpetrator...will be caught and hopefully dealt with," Graham said.
People with information are asked to contact their building principal, RogerBroeker@gicsd.org, JohnFitzpatrick@gicsd.org, or BrianGraham@gicsd.org. People can also use the Viking tip line on the main page of the school district website.
Graham added that he was grateful the girls impacted came forward, as it isn't easy to speak up about sensitive topics such as sex and exploitation.
Melissa Graeff, whose son goes to Grand Island Middle School called this the new kind of stranger danger and said districts and parents need to jointly teach their kids.
"Our district is pretty good about contacting parents and they usually nip it in the bud early. I'm grateful they sent the message out. it's something we can look into, we can deal with as parents and kind of get ahead of it before it gets to that point where it's a really big problem," said Graeff.
Graham also offered the following tips for people regarding online safety:
- Never accept a "friend" within their social media environment that really is a stranger to them;
- Consider making their social media accounts private;
- Block friends and/or strangers who are making threats or harassing statements when using social media or messaging apps; and
- Always communicate with a trusted adult when harassed or asked to comply with conduct that is illegal and endangers the safety, health and welfare of others.