Pitt Freshman At Center Of Major Investigation After Being Threatened Through Social Media
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - A local investigation has now turned into a major one, centered on more than a dozen teenage girls.
The University of Pittsburgh freshman from North Carolina told police that someone messaged her Instagram account, threatening to share nude photos of her if she didn't send more.
The victim told police she sent nude photos of herself to her boyfriend when she was in high school.
A year later, the student says someone messaged her on the social media app, showing the nude photos and demanded she send more to him via Snapchat, and if she didn't, her photos would be posted online.
During the investigation, officials determined that the same suspect alleged extorted 15 other female students at Hough High School, which is located in North Carolina.
The victims ranged from 14- to 18-years-old.
In our social media-driven society, students at Pitt and nearby Carlow University say it is crucial to be extra careful of the kind of pictures you take on your phone so they aren't floating out there in the online world without you realizing it.
"Walking down the street you can take a photo immediately with Snapchat and send it to your whole phone and someone won't have an idea they're being sent out. That kind of stuff happens all the time, especially in colleges," Carlow University junior Zack Taylor said.
"A few of my friends have done it and things like that have happened where they've been basically screwed over because they did this thinking they could trust this person," Pitt freshman Kasey Auld said.
Police have traced the suspect's IP address to Charlotte, North Carolina.
This isn't the first time something like this has happened at Hough High School. Earlier this year, investigators say they found 75 pictures of students in a Dropbox file.
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