Sergeant John Kelly urged parents to have discussions with their children about the dangers of sending intimate photos on messaging apps.
Sergeant John Kelly from Fermoy Garda Station was speaking this morning to Patricia Messinger on C103’s Cork Today Show about the “devastating” case.
He explained that a young man was duped into thinking that he had formed an online relationship with a woman and had sent her intimate photos.
However, he later discovered that he had been ‘catfished’ by a man, who then demanded money from the victim.
“In this case, maybe a male youth of 18 or 19 believed they were texting a female, and intimate photos were exchanged,” Sergeant Kelly said.
“And next thing, a man came through and said, ‘If you don’t pay €500, those photos are going to be circulated to your friends.’ It’s absolutely devastating”.
He urged parents to have discussions with their children about the dangers of sending intimate photos on social media messaging apps.
“It’s quite a new world out there with a lot of what’s going on out there with phones.
“An awful lot of what they call child porn is actually children that are sending intimate photos of themselves to other children.
“It’s very important for people to have a chat with their children regarding smartphones and what to do or what not to do, the etiquettes involved”.
Sergeant Kelly added that anyone who does find themselves targeted by one of these blackmailers should report the incident to…
