The FBI is warning parents and caregivers about an increase in incidents involving sextortion of young children. The FBI is receiving an increasing number of reports of adults posing as young girls coercing young boys through social media to produce sexual images and videos and then extorting money from them.

Sextortion begins when an adult contacts a minor over any online platform used to meet and communicate, such as a game, app, or social media account. In a scheme that has recently become more prevalent, the predator (posing as a young girl) uses deception and manipulation to convince a young male, usually 14 to 17 years old, to engage in explicit activity over video, which is then secretly recorded by the predator. The predator then reveals that they have made the recordings and attempts to extort the victim for money to prevent them from being posted online.

Sextortion is a crime. The coercion of a child by an adult to produce what is considered Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) carries heavy penalties, which can include up to life sentences for the offender. To make the victimization stop, children typically must come forward to someone—normally a parent, teacher, caregiver, or law enforcement. The embarrassment children feel from the activity they were forced to engage in is what typically prevents them from coming forward. Sextortion offenders may have hundreds of victims around the world, so coming forward to help law enforcement identify the offender may prevent countless other incidents of sexual exploitation to that victim and others.

The most effective way to disrupt these criminals is through awareness, education, and having serious discussions with your children about their online safety. We recognize victims may feel embarrassed and thus hesitant to come forward and report these incidents, but the FBI strongly encourages victims to notify law enforcement so that these individuals are held accountable and are prevented from harming other children. “While we understand victims may feel embarrassed, it is important for them to not just tell someone but to talk to, and cooperate with, investigators. We’ve noticed that some children who have reported being victims of sextortion are apprehensive to work with us or are unresponsive when we reach out,” says Supervisory Special Agent Jeanette Milazzo who heads the FBI Houston’s Crimes Against Children Task Force. They of course want to put this behind them, but because these individuals are likely victimizing other kids, their cooperation is key.

The FBI provides the following tips to protect you and your children online:

• Be selective about what you share online, especially your personal information and passwords. If your social media accounts are open to everyone, a predator may be able to figure out a lot of information about you or your children.
• Be wary of anyone you encounter for the first time online. Block or ignore messages from strangers.
• Be aware that people can pretend to be anything or anyone online. Videos and photos are not proof that a person is who they claim to be.
• Be suspicious if you meet someone on a game or app and they ask you to start talking to them on a different platform.
• Encourage your children to report suspicious behavior to a trusted adult.

If you believe you or someone you know is the victim of sextortion:

1. Contact your local FBI field office (contact information can be found at www.fbi.gov), the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) at www.ic3.gov, or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (1-800-the-lost or Cybertipline.org).
2. Do not delete anything before law enforcement is able to review it.
3. Tell law enforcement everything about the encounters you had online; it may be embarrassing, but it is necessary to find the offender.

In 2021, the IC3 received over 18,000 sextortion-related complaints, with losses over $13.6 million. This number reflects all types of sextortion reported, not just this scheme.

More information about sextortion, including graphics and a video PSA, can be found at https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/stop-sextortion-youth-face-risk-online-090319.

A 24-year-old man from Humble has been sentenced to 40 years in prison for the murder of 11-year-old Kamren Jones, who was sleeping in his Channelview home when he was shot to death, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced Thursday.

“Gun violence is a blight on our community, and it is never more tragic than when an innocent child is gunned down in the safety of his own bed,” Ogg said. “This was not an accident, not a random terrible mishap; this child’s death was the inevitable and terrifying result of spraying a residence with bullets.”

Kamren, a student athlete and class jokester, was killed when 20 rounds from an AK-47 and a dozen rounds from a 9 mm handgun were fired at his family’s rented home in the 15100 block of Brentwood.

Sonnie Reyes pleaded guilty on the eve of trial in March and asked to be sentenced by a judge. He had been arrested and charged with the murder weeks after the incident in June 2019. Investigators have speculated that the drive-by shooting was in retaliation for an earlier drive-by shooting.

Reyes, a rapper who performed under the name “East Side Sonnie,” has several arrests going back to 2017 and has had his bond revoked at least twice while awaiting trial.

Assistant District Attorney Sepi Zimmer, who prosecuted the case, said the judge “got it right” because Reyes needs to face the consequences for killing an 11-year-old.

“This family had just moved in, was completely innocent and did not know this house had been shot up before because of who lived there before,” Zimmer said. “It’s just so heartbreaking and devastating to this family because they didn’t do anything wrong, and meanwhile Sonnie Reyes has never shown any remorse.”

A second defendant, Cameron Moore, is also charged with murder in the incident and awaits trial.

“You’all don’t vote”.  VAMOS A VOTAR is a non partisan, non-profit 501-C4 Latino voter participation organization. Latino voter participation impacts Latino representation and Latino access to governmental decision making and benefits.

It is imperative to involve the whole of the Latino Community in Harris County to resolve low voter participation amongst Latinos.

The goal is to develop a voter education and marketing campaign designed to increase Latino voter turn-out.

In particular, to reach out to the young generation of Latino voters to increase their participation in elections.  This is a rallying cry.