A new wave of criminal activity is targeting young people in our country. Recently, this resulted in the devastating loss of a young man in Kanawha County. Ohio County Schools is aiming to share everything we’ve learned about this criminal activity with our families.
We know that discussing dark topics can make people feel uncomfortable, but we also know as educators, we feel called to educate. Over the next several weeks, Ohio County Schools will be sharing information with families via our social media channels and texts from our all-call system.
That information will include materials about sextortion, or a stranger demanding funds after threatening to release private photos or details, and the act of altering images through AI. To share these materials, we’ve worked with our safety committee to identify resources for families. We’ve filmed or are in the process of filming a series of videos geared to specific age groups.
You will see a “reel,” or a short vertical video, led by teens for information that speaks to teens. We’ll have a video designated to parents of elementary-aged parents that explains what this looks like in commonly used platforms such as Roblox. We’ll have the link to a video with information from our friends at the Wheeling, WV Police Department working through the state code and explaining the real world consequences of these actions.
These actions are real, and they are happening. We want our families to have information so they can do what they do best: love their child.
Pictured below are Wheeling Park High School seniors Will and Taylin tackling the information for teens videos as Mrs. Butyn films.
Please stay tuned.