Summit County child exploitation cases rise as online predators target minors

SUMMIT COUNTY, Utah — The Summit County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) has issued an urgent warning about an increasing number of child exploitation cases involving online predators who target minors through social media platforms.

According to the SCSO, these predators initially pose as peers to build trust with young victims before manipulating them into sending explicit photos, then demanding payment to prevent the images from being distributed.

“The SCSO has seen a troubling rise in child exploitation incidents,” the sheriff’s office stated in a public advisory. “A predator connects with your kids on social media, pretending to be a harmless ‘friend.’ But before long, the situation turns dangerously intimate.”

Officials warn that these criminals often operate from overseas jurisdictions, making prosecution challenging. The typical scheme involves adults misrepresenting themselves as teenagers, sharing explicit images allegedly of themselves—though these are typically stolen from previous victims—and pressuring children to reciprocate.

“The young person your child thinks they’re talking to is often a much older individual operating from another country,” the advisory explained.

Once predators obtain compromising images, they pivot to extortion. “Then, the predator reveals their true intentions: pay up or the photos will be shared—often with family, friends, and even neighbors,” according to the SCSO.

The Summit County Sheriff’s Office notes that compliance with payment demands rarely resolves the situation. “Even after kids hand over thousands of dollars to stop the photos from circulating, they’re often still shared with everyone,” the statement read.

Law enforcement officials are urging parents to have direct conversations with their children about online safety, emphasizing that images shared digitally can quickly spread beyond intended recipients.

“Let them know how serious this is—if they don’t want grandma seeing those photos, they shouldn’t send them to anyone!” the advisory stressed. “NEVER send explicit photos to anyone, no matter how convincing they seem.”

The SCSO recommends families take proactive measures to protect children from becoming victims of these schemes, which typically leave young people both financially and emotionally devastated.