Wisconsin ICAC Task Force Conference on Missing and Exploited Children Highlights Increase in Sextortion Cases

The Wisconsin Department of Justice Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force kicked off their 5th annual Conference on Missing and Exploited Children in Appleton yesterday. The conference provides nationwide training to Task Force members and affiliate agencies, as well as multi-disciplinary team members and other child-serving professionals from around the country. The goal of the conference is to expand the efforts, knowledge base and further enhance skills by providing highly specialized training focused on investigating and prosecuting technology-facilitated crimes against children.

This year’s conference highlights the act of sextortion, which is a form of child sexual exploitation where children are threatened or blackmailed, most often with the possibility of sharing with the public of a nude or sexual image of them, by a person who demands sexual activity, or money from the child.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children says they have seen a dramatic increase in financial sextortion incidents, with Teenage boys being the most common targets in these recent cases.