Governor Andy Beshear spotlighted the efforts of state law enforcement to protect children from online predators at Thursday’s Team Kentucky Update.
As Attorney General, Beshear says his team arrested a record number of child predators and trained many Kentuckians to recognize the signs of child abuse and trafficking. Since becoming governor in 2019, Beshear says Kentucky State Police (KSP) have arrested 309 child predators for online crimes involving children.
Lieutenant Mike Bowling from KSP’s Electronic Crime Branch highlighted crime trends and provided tips to parents on what to be on the lookout for. Bowling says they have recently seen a surge in cases concerning child sextortion.
Bowling says child sextortion is when a predator builds a relationship with a child and coerces them to share explicit photos. Once the child shares the photo, the predator will threaten to share it with the victim’s family and friends if they don’t send more pictures or money.
Bowling says they are seeing a rise in AI being used to create child abuse content and deepfakes of victims. He advises parents to familiarize themselves with the social media platforms and online games their children are on.
Prevent Child Abuse Kentucky (PCAK) collaborates with KSP to prevent the online exploitation of children and spread awareness. Jill Seyfred, the executive director of PCAK, says KSP receives around 1,000 monthly tips concerning online crimes against children.
More information about preventing child abuse is available at pcaky.org.