© picture alliance/Matthias Balk/dpa/Sipa USA
(Stony Point, NY) – Is this really how kids are making money these days? While it used to be that newspaper routes and mowing lawns was a way to make some extra cash… now it appears as though things have become more X-rated. And this is not a commentary on “Only Fans” or other similar websites.
A Rockland County teenager now faces felony charges in what’s being described as a “sextortion” plot. Cops in Stony Point arrested a student who attended classes at Fieldstone Middle School — following a six-month investigation. Apparently a number of students also came forward with allegations.
The claim is the teen contacted victims online and pretended to be a woman — then solicited private, sexually-explicit photos. Upon receipt of those photos, the teen would allegedly demand payment in the form of gift cards — or threaten to expose the explicit snaps. Fantino Depena is a father in Rockland County and told News 12 Westchester the incident is “shocking” and “horrible.” Cops have said the number of victims could be in the hundreds.
During a Wednesday afternoon press conference, police said six male victims told their school resource officer they were being “coerced” online. The victims are from Fieldstone, New York. The investigation that unfolded over half of a year’s time involved Stony Point police, the North Rockland Central School District, the Rockland County Sheriff’s Office, the Rockland district attorney and Haverstraw police.
The student was taken into custody last week.
