With smartphones in the hands of more kids than ever, the RCMP have seen a rise in the number of cases of child exploitation involving sexually explicit images.
Recently, a 15-year-old boy being charged in connection with trying to extort a young girl for naked pictures.
Cpl. Mark Sobieraj, head of the Internet Child Exploitation Unit with the RMCP, said they have seen a slight increase in cases involving youth and the inappropriate sharing of ‘nudes’.
“Over the past year the RCMP has investigated around 95 cases of intimate images being shared”
He said while most cases do take place at school, that isn’t always the case.
In order to best protect children from being exploited, Sobieraj recommends having a conversation about sexual exploitation, the warning signs that come with that situation and how to avoid it.
While the subject can often be tough to approach he recommends using stories like the case from the Annapolis Valley earlier this week as a springboard for that conversation.
The RCMP is also making direct efforts to better protect children from exploitation. In Nova Scotia, they regularly host seminars at schools about how to navigate the dangers of social media and the internet.
They also have online resources for parents and children that can offer advice on these types of issues.
The first site is NeedHelpNow.ca which offers advice on what to do if you believe you are being exploited. For advice more tailored to parents and educators they recommend Cybertip.ca.
In closing, Sobieraj said with the most recent case in the Annapolis Valley, they were able to successfully identify the suspect in under 24 hours due to the coordinated effort from various police units, social media sites, and non-profits.
