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A Regina man is facing charges after allegedly exploiting a 15-year-old boy from Ontario.
In June of last year, the Saskatchewan Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) Unit was contacted by the Ontario Provincial Police regarding an investigation involving a 15-year-old boy.
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According to police, the 25-year-old man in Regina was posing as a teenage girl and convinced the boy to send a nude photo of himself.
“After receiving the photo, the suspect then extorted the victim for money,” police said.
The Regina man is facing charges of accessing child sexual abuse and exploitation material and extortion.
He was released on court-imposed conditions.
His next court date is set for Jan. 29 in Regina.
The Saskatchewan ICE Unit consists of investigators from the Saskatchewan RCMP, Regina Police Service and Saskatoon Police Service. Its mandate is to investigate crimes involving the abuse and exploitation of children on the Internet.
What is sextortion?
According to Canada’s National Tipline for reporting online sexual exploitation of children, it calls sextortion blackmail.
“It’s when someone online threatens to send a sexual image or video of you to other people if you don’t pay them or provide more sexual content,” the website said.
In 2024, the organization received more than 2,300 sextortion reports, and boys were more likely to be victims.
When gender was known, 83 per cent of the victims were boys. They’re typically extorted for money, while girls are extorted for more images.
How does it happen?
The youth are often tricked into thinking they are talking to another youth their age. Chats typically start on Instagram and move to Snapchat, according to the organization.
Conversations can last hours, but in some cases, extortion can take as little as 20 minutes.
The extorter convinces their victims to exchange sexual content. When the content is received, the extorter makes their demands; typically demanding more pictures from girls and money from boys.
If the youth doesn’t comply, the extorter threatens to leak the victim’s content online or to their friends and family.
What next?
The organization recommends screenshotting all the messages with the extorter and immediately ending the conversation.
It said in thousands of cases, responding to the extorter makes the harassment worse.
“Never pay money and never send additional nudes. Do not give in to threats,” it said.
Organizations can help connect youth with the best resources. All concerns about sextortion are also forwarded to police.
