RED LAKE — Provincial police are warning of an increase in local incidents of self-peer exploitation, or sexting.
Police issued a news release on Tuesday, saying the Red Lake and Ear Falls detachments have received reports of youth sending and requesting sexually explicit images or videos from within their friend groups or with unknown people on the internet.
Police said possible charges could include making, distributing, possessing, or accessing child pornography, luring minors over internet for sexual purposes, publication of an intimate image without consent, and extortion.
Methods of reducing the risk of being extorted include not accepting unknown friend requests, limiting personal information posted online, restricting privacy settings, covering webcams when not in use, and considering requests for intimate images to be a red flag.
Parents are recommended to monitor their children's online activity and making them aware of online threats.
