Ohio County Schools has been working diligently on an education campaign focused on digital safety in elementary students and honest conversations about extortion for middle and high school students. Current research from The Center for Missing and Exploited Youth indicates that one group of children commonly targeted are well-known, high school aged athletes.
Today, Wheeling Park High School offered the opportunity for both male and female athletes to learn about this criminal act directly from the professionals who deal both with the preventative measures of educating young people, but also with the criminal aftermath.
Split by gender, male athletes heard from Bradley Mason of the West Virginia State Police. He currently works in the Crimes Against Children Unit. Our female athletes heard from Katie Banal of Harmony House. She is the Community Education Coordinator.
The presentations will addressed internet safety for high-school aged children including the definition of sextortion, warning signs of sextortion, refusal skills for responding to predators, how to report concerns, and current events/trends/stats regarding sextortion.
Topics like this as well as several other similar sessions will be available on a larger scale to interested community members, parents, and students of all ages and school districts at the upcoming Ohio County Schools Mental Health Fair, scheduled for 4/23 from 5-7 at West Virginia Northern Community College. More information to follow.
Thank you to The Intelligencer, WTOV NEWS9, and WTRF 7News for covering this event.
A special thanks to Harmony House and the WV State Police for helping us take a proactive approach to educating today’s kids.