A case of “sextortion (sex extortion)” victimization has been reported at a middle school near Los Angeles Koreatown.
According to Korean-American parents and John Burroughs Middle School, the incident was discovered in May when a male and a female Korean-American student, who were in eighth grade at the time, were found to have shared sextortion photos of another male student with their friends on social media or showed them in person.
“Some parents found out about the incident in May, but they were afraid of the school’s reputation and possible penalties,” said a Korean-American parent who wished to remain anonymous, “but when the problem grew, the school took action.”
According to the parent, the two Korean American students targeted the victim, who was a friend, in March or April. The female student talked to the victim through cell phone texts and asked him to take pictures of himself, and he allegedly took pictures of his body and sent them to her.
“The male student received the photos of that student and distributed them to his friends on social media, and the female student showed the photos on her cell phone to her friends,” the parent said. ”I’ve heard that the photos showed some of his major body parts along with his face.”
When they circulated the photos, some students advised the victim to tell his parents and the school about the incident. Although he didn’t want things to escalate, other classmates reported the incident to the school.
When the school learned of the sextortion case, it reportedly notified the victim’s parents and filed a police report.
John Burroughs Middle School has not denied the incident but has avoided commenting on the specifics.
When contacted for comment, the school said, “The students in question graduated before last summer vacation and are no longer attending the school,” adding, “The incident was handled in accordance with LA Unified School District regulations. We are unable to provide further details.”
Meanwhile, there have been ongoing incidents of sextortion and Deepfake pornographic photos using artificial intelligence (AI) among teens. Deepfakes are fake photos and videos created by AI using a person’s face.
In February, Beverly Vista Middle School in Beverly Hills expelled five eighth-grade male students after it was discovered that they had shared a pornographic photo of a girl created with AI.
Some parents have expressed the need to educate students that sextortion and AI-enhanced pornography is a crime. One parent said, “It’s really dangerous to think like ‘things happen when they grow up’. Parents should be responsible for educating their children to prevent misbehavior.”
BY HYOUNGJAE KIM, HOONSIK WOO [kim.ian@koreadaily.com]
