FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. – Deputies with the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI are set to hold a meeting Wednesday to help parents and guardians on how to keep their children safe from the internet.
Sheriff Rick Staly spoke to News 6′s Ezzy Castro ahead of the meeting and said this comes after an 11-year-old boy from Virginia was arrested earlier this year accused of making threats against the Flagler County schools.
“When we arrested this 11-year-old, it kind of opened my eyes certainly to what he was getting involved in. And there were groups that he was chatting with that when you read what they were trying to do or how they tried to manipulate people, he was a textbook of what they were doing,” Staly explained.
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Investigators said the boy allegedly made claims that a bomb or bombs had been placed, threatened to commit a mass shooting, or stated that they had just shot a teacher, student, or multiple people.
“He actually started his online activity going down this path at the age of 7 during COVID,” Staly said.
According to the FBI, agents have seen an increase in sextortion cases, which involve adults forcing minors to create and send sexually explicit images and even videos. In 2022, the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations received more than 7,000 reports of online financially motivated sextortion of minors.
“I think this is what this is about, is how to protect your kids and the dangerous side of the internet. The Internet can be very good and provide valuable information but there’s also a very dark side to the internet there’s all kinds of apps out there,” Staly explained.
The “Be Smart With Your Kids Cell Phone” presentation is a free event for parents and is set for Wednesday from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Flagler Auditorium at 5500 East Highway in Palm Coast.
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