Online predators are meeting children where parents think they are only playing games
By The Redemption Project Newsroom
Public Safety Desk
Tennessee investigators are warning families that online exploitation is moving faster than many parents, schools, churches and police can respond.
The issue is not simply that children are online.
It is that offenders are reaching children through ordinary digital spaces — games, social apps, private messages and group chats — where adults may think children are only playing, watching or talking with friends.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation issued a June 29 warning about the growing threat of financial sextortion targeting children and teens. The warning followed new data from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children showing more than 50,000 reports of financially motivated sextortion in 2025, an average of 137 reports per day. That was up from more than 36,000 reports in 2024.
TBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Robert Burghardt said TBI’s four agents assigned to these cases are working to identify and locate more than 150 child victims of sextortion in Tennessee.
Knoxville police are also warning families.
WVLT reported that Lt. Andrew Boatman, commander of the Knoxville Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, said two threats are growing: financial sextortion and sadistic online enticement.
Boatman told WVLT that one major red flag is when someone a child meets on a platform such as Roblox tries to move the conversation to a harder-to-track channel, including texting, WhatsApp or a phone number.
That is the public-safety issue.
The danger is not that every game or app is unsafe. The danger is that any platform allowing children to communicate with unknown users can become an access point for exploitation.
A child may think they are talking to another player, a friend, a fan, a teammate or a romantic interest. The person on the other end may be an offender using the platform to build trust, move the child into private communication and then use fear, shame or threats to control them.
Systems Explained: Sextortion
Sextortion is exploitation through threats, pressure or blackmail involving sexual images or sexual content.
In child cases, an offender may obtain or claim to have an image and then threaten to share it with parents, classmates, friends or followers unless the child sends money, sends more images or continues complying.
The child is the victim of a crime. The shame belongs to the offender, not the child.
Financial sextortion is a specific form of the crime. In those cases, the offender’s primary demand is money.
NCMEC says paying or cooperating rarely stops the blackmail. The FBI has also warned that paying money or gift cards does not ensure the offender will stop, and offenders may continue making demands even after payment.
That is why families need to talk about this before a crisis happens.
Children often stay silent because they are afraid. They may fear the offender, but they may also fear punishment from parents, embarrassment at school, losing a phone or being blamed for what happened.
Boatman told WVLT parents should be careful about hopeless language, especially telling children that anything online is permanent in a way that makes them feel trapped. He said children need to know there are resources and that “it’s not the end.”
That point matters.
A child who believes one mistake has ruined their life may be easier for an offender to control. A child who believes they can tell a trusted adult without being destroyed by punishment has a better chance of getting help quickly.
Systems Explained: Online enticement
Online enticement is communication with someone believed to be a child for the purpose of sexual exploitation or abduction.
NCMEC says online enticement can include sextortion and can happen across social media, messaging apps, gaming platforms and other online spaces.
The first message may not look dangerous. It may look like friendship, gaming talk, compliments, shared interests or attention from someone who seems to understand the child.
The offender’s first goal is access.
That access may come through a gaming platform, social media account, livestream, comment section, messaging app, private server or group chat.
The next step is often disguise. The offender may pretend to be another child or teen, a gaming friend, a romantic interest, a teammate, a fan or someone offering attention, status, gifts or in-game benefits.
Then comes grooming.
Systems Explained: Grooming
Grooming is the process of building trust, secrecy and emotional dependence before exploitation.
It can begin with ordinary conversation. The offender may ask about games, school, hobbies, loneliness or friendship before testing boundaries and pushing the child toward secrecy.
Grooming works because it does not always feel threatening at first.
WVLT reported Kate Trudell, executive director of the Community Coalition Against Human Trafficking, said crimes involving sextortion, sexual abuse or human trafficking often begin with grooming through social media, gaming platforms or messaging apps.
After access and grooming, the offender may try to isolate the child.
That is where off-platform movement becomes important.
Boatman told WVLT that one of the biggest red flags is when someone tries to move a child from a platform like Roblox to another communication channel that is more difficult to track.
The FBI gives similar guidance, warning young people to be suspicious if someone they meet on one game or app asks them to start talking on another platform.
Systems Explained: Off-platform movement
Off-platform movement happens when someone tries to move a child from a game, app or public-facing platform into private communication.
That may include texting, WhatsApp, phone numbers, encrypted apps, private accounts or another channel parents do not know about.
Knoxville police identified this as a major red flag because it can move the conversation away from platform moderation, parental awareness and easier reporting tools.
Once the child is isolated, the offender may request or obtain material that can be used for blackmail. In some cases, the offender may only claim to have material. The threat alone can be enough to scare a child into silence.
The demand may be money, gift cards, payment-app transfers, more images, videos, further compliance or silence.
TBI warned that giving in rarely ends the abuse and almost always encourages more demands. NCMEC says cooperating or paying rarely stops blackmail.
The emotional pressure can be severe. TBI said predators often encourage victims to commit suicide, leaving children carrying an overwhelming emotional burden alone.
That is why the first adult response matters.
A parent, teacher, pastor, coach or youth leader may be the first safe adult a child tells. The wrong response can shut the child down. The right response can open the door to help.
The first message to children should be clear:
You will not be in trouble for coming to me.
If someone asks for a private picture, secret chat or off-platform conversation, tell me.
If someone threatens you, do not pay, do not send more images and do not negotiate.
The shame belongs to the offender, not you.
We can report it, and there are tools to help.
You are more important than any phone, app, game or mistake.
That last sentence may be the most important one.
Children often stay silent because they fear losing a device or being punished. But in a sextortion case, silence helps the offender.
Systems Explained: CyberTipline
The CyberTipline is NCMEC’s national reporting system for suspected child sexual exploitation.
Families can submit reports at report.cybertip.org or call 1-800-THE-MISSING, which is 1-800-843-5678.
Reports can help law enforcement identify offenders, locate victims and connect cases that may cross city, state or national lines.
If a child is targeted, adults should stay calm first.
Tell the child: “You did the right thing telling me. You are not alone. We are going to handle this together.”
Do not pay and do not comply with the blackmailer. TBI, NCMEC and the FBI all warn that payment or cooperation rarely stops the abuse.
Preserve evidence such as usernames, profile links, phone numbers, payment handles, messages, screenshots, dates, times and platform names. Do not forward explicit images of a child to other people. Follow law enforcement guidance.
Report the case to local law enforcement.
Report to NCMEC’s CyberTipline at report.cybertip.org or call 1-800-THE-MISSING, which is 1-800-843-5678.
Use NCMEC’s Take It Down tool when appropriate. NCMEC says the tool can help get explicit images removed from the internet for free.
Report the account through the platform’s safety tools and block the offender after evidence is preserved.
Get emotional support for the child. If there is an immediate risk of self-harm, call 911.
Prevention also has to be practical.
Parents can review every app or game with chat features, turn off open chat where possible, restrict friend requests to known real-life friends, disable voice chat for younger children, use parental controls, review privacy settings, keep gaming devices in shared spaces for younger children and regularly ask who the child is playing or chatting with.
But controls are not enough.
The best parental control is still a relationship where a child can tell the truth quickly.
Schools, churches and youth ministries also have a role.
They should teach children what sextortion is, that blackmail is a crime, that victims should not pay or comply, that telling an adult quickly is the safest move, that shame and secrecy are tools offenders use, and that evidence matters.
They should also have a written response plan before a crisis.
That plan should identify who receives reports, when law enforcement is contacted, how evidence is preserved, how parents are notified, how victims are protected from bullying, how mandatory reporting obligations are handled, how staff avoid mishandling illegal images and how emotional or pastoral support is provided.
What adults should not do is just as important.
They should not shame the child. They should not treat sextortion as school drama. They should not conduct amateur investigations by forwarding images. They should not gather groups of students to discuss a victim’s case. They should not promise secrecy if a child is in danger.
This is a child-protection issue, not a discipline problem first.
Gaming platforms are not automatically dangerous. Social apps are not automatically exploitation tools. A child having a phone or playing a game does not mean a parent has failed.
But the digital world has changed the distance between children and offenders.
A predator no longer has to meet a child at a park, mall, school event or neighborhood gathering. The access point may already be in the child’s room, backpack or hand.
That is why online safety has to start before the crisis.
The danger is not just screen time.
It is who can reach children through the screen.
If a child is being threatened online
Do not pay. Do not send more images. Do not negotiate.
Tell a trusted adult immediately.
Preserve evidence, including usernames, messages, profile links, dates and platform names.
Report to local law enforcement.
Report to NCMEC’s CyberTipline at report.cybertip.org or call 1-800-THE-MISSING, which is 1-800-843-5678.
Use NCMEC’s Take It Down tool for help removing explicit images from the internet.
If there is immediate danger or self-harm risk, call 911.
The Justice / Public Safety Desk at The Redemption Project Newsroom covers criminal justice, law enforcement, courts, corrections, public safety policy and the systems that shape civic trust. The desk focuses on clear, fact-grounded reporting that explains what happened, what the evidence shows, what remains unclear and why the issue matters to the public.
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