MUPD reports another sextortion case, marks fourth blackmail case of semester

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A records request acquired by ABC 17 News found that the University of Missouri Police Department is investigating a sextortion case that occurred sometime during the week of Sep. 29.

The incident report outlines that MUPD was made aware of the case on Oct. 5 after an anonymous tip was submitted to the department. The tip states that a female student's explicit photographs were displayed on various websites, along with her personal information, including the school she attends.

The report also states that a detective contacted the student, who said she had been dealing with the issue on her own for a week before the university was made aware of it.

An MUPD spokesperson previously stated sextortion can begin on social media when an individual reaches out to the subject and eventually asks for an explicit photo. After the photo is sent, the person on the other side will then turn to extortion.

The reported victim in the most recent report claims she was contacted by several people she did not know through social media website -- such as Instagram and Snapchat -- that explicit photos of her were circulating online. She also stated she was then harassed by users online who asked for more nude photos or money, threatening to share the photos with family and friends if she didn't cooperate.

MUPD's crime log shows four reported cases of extortion and blackmail since August.

The most recent cases of extortion and blackmail were reported two days apart on Oct. 4 and Oct. 6. The Oct. 4 case is listed as inactive. There were an additional two sextortion cases listed from August and September, both of which are now described as "inactive."

MUPD previously stated there were 10 cases during the 2022-23 school year.

The FBI reports receiving 7,000 reports related to the online sextortion of minors in 2022, with at least 3,000 of those victims being boys.