In some way, shape, or form, everyone has needed to use AI. Either it was Google, Chat GPT, Snapchat AI, or Sora AI. These are all very helpful ways to find information quickly. You can use AI to create photos and adjust anything you didn’t like in them. Unfortunately, in some cases, it is used for editing photos and making them inappropriate. In most cases, children are a big target for sextortion through AI. This is the case for Walker Montgomery, a 16-year-old boy who committed suicide as a result of sextortion. Sexual extortion affects approximately 3.5% to 5.4% of children globally.
How offenders are using AI to exploit children.
It is easy enough to take a photo and plug it into any Source of AI and ask it to make changes. Whether it be using a filter to change one’s appearance or taking a photo to edit it to look realistic There are many different things anyone can do with AI. Unfortunately, there are horrible people in the world who are taking advantage of AI and its uses.
I had interviewed my grandma, Julie Nielsen, to see what her opinion about this topic is, and I had asked her a few questions, but one of her responses really stuck out to me. My question simply was, did you know who Elijah Heacock was?. Her response was ”No, I had no idea who Elijah Heacock was.”
Following the interview, I discussed the case related to AI sextortion about the boy named Elijah Heacock. AI had taken the photos of the young boy and had made them into inappropriate pictures and threatened to post them for everyone to see. It became an AI-driven extortion scam with the offender demanding $3,000 to erase the photos. This story had a horrific ending that nobody could have expected. On February 28th,2025, his parents had to say their goodbyes to their loving son, grandson, brother, and friend. He had attempted to commit suicide by shooting himself. This led to a fatal gunshot wound. Because of this gunshot wound, he died surrounded by family and friends.
He had finally been laid to rest on March 6, 2026. Because of AI and horrible people that, unfortunately, have the urge for money, Elijah Heacock and many others have felt the need to take their own lives. This isn’t the first case of this happening, and according to an article by Hallie Martyniuk, “Child predators can also use AI-edited CSAM to extort children and their families for financial gain. This is called sextortion”. They have many articles to cover the problems and effects on the offenders for situations such as this one. Children are more vulnerable to believing situations because they are not as informed or educated as adults would be.
Later speaking to Nielsen, I asked if she had ever heard of AI using pieces of images to make them come together and look realistic. Nielsen responded with “Yes, I used AI to create a Christmas portrait image that looked very realistic, like it was a complete photo shoot”. Nielsen was a perfect example of how AI can be used for good. Nielsen was also a perfect example of how realistic AI can take one image and make it into another.
What are the consequences for offenders who use AI to engage in extortion of children?
Offenders everywhere are finding new and useful ways to extort pictures of children every day. In some cases, such as the Montgomery boy or Caroline Williams case, it’s for money or because it benefits them in some weird way. Unfortunately, AI has become a helpful tool for offenders. AI is used so much around us that it’s not hard to figure out how to use it. But do offenders know the consequences of using AI to expose explicit images of children? According to an article by The Office of Public Affairs there is a “minimum penalty of 15 years and a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison on particular charges. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors”. Offenders get the same treatment as a child molester would.
Roughly 300 million children are victims of some form of online sexual exploitation annually. Unfortunately, the problem only seems to be expanding. Oftentimes, the victim will be held in court, and they will testify against the offender, and most times their punishment demand will be held the highest against any other proposition. According to an article by The FBI, “another victim who said she knew Tatum in high school asked the court for the maximum penalty.” Tatum was a child psychiatrist who created child pornography using AI. The maximum penalty following this specific case was 15 years’ imprisonment and 5 years probation. Not all cases have an ending like this one, and in some cases, there isn’t enough evidence to charge them with the max penalty. Instead, the offenders are set on bail and have to pay that before being released.
Most offenders who use these methods are in a financial dilemma and need quick money. To them, the easiest way to get money is to threaten kids with explicit materials and demand money. They essentially are scamming the kids into thinking they will release these images if the amount is not paid in full. Most kids aren’t educated on AI and hardly know the dangers of using it. Creating so much anxiety in a child makes them fear talking to anyone, even their parents. Parents can offer support and make themselves more reliable to ensure the child’s safety to talk to them. Most offenders don’t realize the stress they are putting kids under, especially if they don’t feel safe talking to their parents about the issue. In most cases, kids who don’t talk to their parents attempt suicide, as sad as it is. According to an article by Chadwick Moore, “over three dozen (at least 38) American teenagers have died by suicide since 2021 because of an extortion threat.” This says a lot about how kids feel the urge to do unthinkable things when they feel threatened.
The effect on children because of the offenders using extortion techniques
There are many children who have been exploited online because of help from AI. When kids see themselves in a photo that clearly wasn’t taken but was actually changed by AI, most don’t take it well. This leads to high increases in anxiety, depression, and fear. Anxiety because they don’t know how many people have seen this photo, which the child hasn’t seen either. Fear because of how many people have seen this. Could this happen again, not just to the victim, but to other children or people around them?. According to an interview in the article by the FBI, “I sat in a chair across from an agent and a victim specialist who had several manila envelopes containing evidence. I can’t describe the moment when they showed me my 15-year-old naked body.” This is the shock of a young girl who has never seen or taken these photos, but they are somehow sitting right in front of her. This case specifically focused on catching a sex offender who used AI multiple times to do this to other children.
In most cases like this one, the children know who the offender is. They might know him because he is a parent’s friend, one of their friends, or even their school bus driver. In another article by the FBI, they had asked a young girl if she knew who her offender was, and this was her response: “We were a group of children waiting for the school bus,” she said. “It was a happy memory. Mr. Tatum has taken that memory and turned it into something grotesque and obscene.” There have been many more cases just like this one, and it is almost terrifying to know who your offender was but know nothing about them.
This leaves a horrible effect on the victims and leaves a lingering thought of fear draped over them. With 80% of the extortion rate involving AI, it makes it hard to stop these types of things from happening.
This topic is so important to discuss and have knowledge of. Realizing a change in mood or diet in a child is crucial for a parent to spot. Discussing events you see on the news and ensuring a kid’s safety with a trusted adult is so important. This happens to many kids, and in some cases, their lives come to an end far too soon before anyone can catch it. If this happens to you or a friend, encourage them to talk to a trusted adult, and they can help you through it. Your life matters more than a photo.
Suicide Hotline: 988
Stevens Point Police Department: (715) 346-1500
Please don’t hesitate to reach out to these numbers if you need help.
