Protecting young people from online predators is a priority of the Kentucky State Police.
Lieutenant Mike Bowling is the KSP Electronic Crime Branch commander. He said there is a disturbing trend his officers are finding, something called financial sextortion.
“What that is, where a perpetrator will coerce a child into sharing explicit content and then demand payment or they will show those to other people.”
He said there is a new problem his team is having to contend with now, and that's AI, deepfake exploitation.
“That is, offenders manipulating real images of children and making entirely, what we call, synthetic CSAM, or synthetic child sexual abuse material. This is new material that is being added and circulated online.”
Bowling said, in addition, the Electronic Crime Branch partners with Prevent Child Abuse Kentucky to provide education to help parents protect their kids online.
To report a suspected internet crime against a child, please contact the KSP Electronic Crime Branch at 502-782-9769 or any KSP local post.
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